Decision to Officially Introduce Abortion Pills Domestically
Domestic introduction of abortion medication, prescription within 9 weeks to be pursued Expect improved safety through medical institution management and the protection of women’s health rights
The government has decided to push ahead with the domestic introduction of abortion medication, seven years after the Constitutional Court’s 2019 ruling finding the abortion ban unconstitutional. The target is women within nine weeks of pregnancy, and the plan is to make it available through physicians’ prescriptions and dispensing at medical institutions within the first quarter of next year.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reported the related plan at the State Affairs Coordination Meeting on the 16th. The government says it aims to reduce illicit distribution and manage the medication within the medical system to ensure women’s safety and right to health.
Mifegyne, known as an early abortion pill, is domestically licensed by Hyundai Pharmaceutical, and its product approval review is currently under way at the MFDS. The government plans to operate it so that doctors dispense it directly at medical institutions for the first two years after introduction, and it will additionally establish support measures for adolescents and detailed standards.