Revised Birth Control Regulation Sparks Debate In South Korea

Written by Lee Yoo Eun

The Korean Food and Drug Administration announced ^[1] on May 7, 2012, that emergency contraceptives, known as morning-after pills ^[2], will become available for purchase over the counter. However, it has made non-emergency oral contraceptives, which were over the counter in the past, prescription-only drugs. An emergency contraceptive prescription will still be required for teenagers.

These sudden changes regarding drug regulations have sparked heated discussions online. While there are still debates going on ^[3] about the risks and effectiveness of emergency contraceptives among medical communities, many South Korean net users have expressed dissents on the reversal. As quoted in a Hangyoreh ^[4] [ko] news article, woman rights organizations and especially young unmarried women, have criticized the decision as making the sale of conventional contraceptives extra inconvenient.

Twitter user @redparco ^[6] reminded ^[7] [ko] people of the social stigma on unmarried women visiting gynaecologists in South Korean society, which is still relatively conservative and patriarchal:

ìœ ëŸ½ì€ ë‹¤ë“¤ ê·¸ë ‡ê²Œ í•˜ê³ ìžˆë‹¤ëŠ” ì–˜ê¸¸ í•˜ë ¤ë©´ í•œêµì—ì„œë„ ê·¸ ë‚˜ë¼ë“¤ì²˜ëŸ¼ ë¶€ì¸ê³¼ ì§„ë£Œë‚˜ ì‚¬ì „,ì‚¬í›„ í”¼ìž„ì•½ì˜ ì ‘ê·¼ì„±ì´ ì¢‹ì•„ì ¸ì•¼ì§€. í•œêµ ë¯¸í˜¼ ì—¬ì„±ë“¤ì´ ì‚¬ì „ í”¼ìž„ì•½ ì²˜ë°© ë°›ìœ¼ëŸ¬ ì‚°ë¶€ì¸ê³¼ ìžì—°ìŠ¤ëŸ½ê²Œ ë“œë‚˜ë“¤ ìˆ˜ ìžˆëŠ” ë¶„ìœ„ê¸°ë‚˜ ë§ˆë ¨í•˜ê³ í• ë§ì´ì§€.

When they [Food and Drug Administration] want to reference European cases, then they should first make gynaecologist examinations and contraceptives more accessible — just like how it is done in those European countries. At least they should provide a social atmosphere where unmarried Korean women feel comfortable in visiting gynaecologists to get a prescription for oral contraceptives.

@marisusa ^[8]came up ^[9] [ko] with a similar argument:

[…] ì‚¬í›„í”¼ìž„ì•½ì´ë¼ëŠ” ë‹¨ì–´ ë‰˜ì•™ìŠ¤ê°€ í”¼ìž„ì±…ìž„ì„ ì—¬ì„± ì¼ë°©ì—ê²Œë§Œ ì§€ìš°ëŠ” ë°©ì‹ìœ¼ë¡œ ì•…ìš©ë ìš°ë ¤ê°€

The morning-after pill sounds like blaming women for what happened. And there is a chance it could be abused in that way.

ThinkThink ^[10], after inviting other users to join a discussion, speculated ^[11] [ko] that the sudden shift in policy has been driven by profit maximization, rather than care for public health. Shin Jae-eun commented right below the net user’s post:

ë³‘ì›ì²˜ë°©ì´ í•„ìš”í•´ì§€ë©´ ë‚¨ì˜ ëˆˆ ì˜ì‹í•˜ë‹¤ë³´ë‹ˆ ëª»ê°€ê¸°ë„ í• êº¼ê³ í”¼ìž„ë¥ ì€ ì¤„ê³ ì˜¤ížˆë ¤ ë‚™íƒœë¥ ì´ ë†’ì•„ì§ˆë“¯ ì‹¶ë„¤ìš”[…]ì§„ì§œ ì ê·¹ ë°˜ëŒ€ë„¤ìš”.

When the [oral] contraceptive becomes prescription-only, people conscious of other people’s eyes will not be able to visit [the gynaecologist] easily – which may result in a spike in the abortion rate and failure in birth control […] I am totally against it.

While a majority of net users warn about the danger of emergency contraceptives, sometimes referring to them as a ‘hormone bomb’ ^[12], Twitter user @__mangmang ^[13] tweeted ^[14] [ko]:

ì‚¬í›„í”¼ìž„ì•½ì€ ê·¸ì•¼ë§ë¡œ ‘ì‘ê¸‰’í”¼ìž„ì•½ì´ê³ , ì¼ë°˜ì˜ì•½í’ˆìœ¼ë¡œ ì „í™˜ë˜ëŠ” ê±´ ì˜³ë‹¤ê³ ìƒê°í•œë‹¤. ê·¸ëŸ¬ë‚˜ ê²½êµ¬í”¼ìž„ì•½(ì‚¬ì „ ë³µìš©)ì´ ì „ë¬¸ì˜ì•½í’ˆí™”ë˜ë©´ 10ëŒ€ë“¤, ìž‘ì€ ê³µë™ì²´ì— ì‚¬ëŠ” ë¹„ìˆ˜ë„ê¶Œ ì—¬ì„±ë“¤ì˜ í”¼ìž„ì•½ êµ¬ë§¤ëŠ” í˜„ì‹¤ì ìœ¼ë¡œ ë” ì–´ë ¤ì›Œì§ˆ ê±°ë‹¤.

The emergency contraceptive is really – as its name says – an “emergency” pill, so there is nothing wrong with switching it to over the counter. However, when the oral contraceptive is converted into a prescription-only drug, it will be really hard, almost impossible for a teenager and women living in a small suburban area and tiny community to purchase the pill [discreetly].

Beside women’s rights groups, the Catholic Church is also resisting the decision. The Catholic Church in Chungcheong Province even held a protest ^[15] in front of the Food and Drug Administration building, warning that [emergency contraceptive] pills could hurt the morals of people and give wrong lessons on the value of life especially to teenagers – an argument a lots of Twitter users do not buy into.

@symadam5 ^[16] tweeted ^[17] [ko]:

ì‚¬í›„í”¼ìž„ì•½ ì¼ë°˜ì˜ì•½í’ˆ íŒë§¤ë¡œ ì„±ë¬¸ëž€,ë‚™íƒœì¡°ìž¥ì„ ì£¼ìž¥í•˜ëŠ” ê°€í†¨ë¦ì€ […] í˜„ì‹¤ê°ê°ì´ ì—†ëŠ”ê±´ì§€,ì´ ë‚˜ë¼ ë¶ˆë²•ë‚™íƒœì™€ í•´ì™¸ìž…ì–‘ìœ¨ ë³´ë©´ ì´ë¯¸ ìµœê³ ìˆ˜ì¤€ì¸ë° ì™ ìƒìƒë ¥?ì‚¬ì „í”¼ìž„ëª»í•¨ ì‚¬í›„ë¼ë„ í•´ì•¼ë‹ˆ ê¸´ê¸‰,ì‘ê¸‰í”¼ìž„ì•½ì¸ë° 72ì‹œê°„ë‚´ ë¨¹ëŠ”ê²Œ ë‚™íƒœëž€ê±´ ê³¼ìž¥ì´ ì‹¬í•´

Those Catholics who claim that switching emergency contraceptives to over the counter would promote loss of morality and encourage abortion – have they lost touch with reality? The illegal abortion rate and the international adoption rate are already extremely high in this country. What kind of wild imagination do they have? If one fails to take an oral contraceptive, then one should be able to take a pill afterwards – that is why it is called ‘emergency’ contraceptive. It is quite an exaggeration to define consuming a pill within 72 hours an act of abortion.

The reversed policy on the contraceptives is expected to come into effect as early as next year.

Article printed from Global Voices: http://globalvoicesonline.org

URL to article: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/06/13/south-korea-birth-control-regulation-changes-provoke-debate/