[SPOTLIGHT]25/08/26 Korean Catholic bodies oppose move to ease abortions

[성기화 요셉]

Bill proposes to remove existing legal restrictions on abortion, permit pill usage, and insurance for procedures

Bishop Pius Moon Chang-woo of Jeju (third from left) and representatives of various Catholic organizations in South Korea pose for a photograph on Aug. 26. (Photo: Catholic Times of Korea)

By UCA News reporter

Published: September 01, 2025 12:12 PM GMT

Updated: September 01, 2025 12:24 PM GMT

Four Korean Catholic organizations led by a bishop have opposed a proposed revision to a law governing maternity and childbirth, while vowing to expand their pro-life movement in dioceses across the nation

Bishop Pius Moon Chang-woo, chair of the Korean bishops’ Committee on Family and Life, handed a protest note to Park Joo-min, chair of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, on Aug. 26.

Moon expressed concerns that the debate regarding the changes in the maternity law had become a topic that everyone wanted to avoid and be quickly resolved due to “sharp confrontation between opposing sides.”

“There is an atmosphere focused solely on speeding up the process based on a decision skewed toward one side,” Moon alleged.

Speeding up the process to make amendments to the Maternal and Child Health Act (1973) should seek harmony between the “right to life of the fetus and a woman's right to self-determination,” Moon emphasized.

Father Leo Oh Seok-jun, Secretary General of the Seoul Archdiocese's Committee on Life, also delivered the archdiocese’s position paper opposing the proposed amendments.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the Catholic bishops’ Committee on Bioethics, Catholic University of Korea's Graduate School of Life Sciences, and the Catholic Bioethics Research Institute.

Earlier in July, lawmakers Nam In-soon and Lee Soo-jin of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed changes to the law, which drew strong opposition from the Catholic Church, Protestant groups, and the medical community.

They had proposed removing existing legal restrictions on abortion, permitting abortion pills, and applying national health insurance to abortion procedures.

The Catholic Church has, however, maintained a stance that while women's right to self-determination must be respected, that right must not take precedence over the right to life of the fetus.

“It is necessary to break away from the image of the Church as uncompromisingly opposed to abortion,” Moon said.

“Instead, communicate through forums like this what concerns we are grappling with and what solutions we are pursuing,” Moon added.

Moon stated that he conveyed to Park the church’s strong opposition to removing even the exceptions to abortion.

“The Church strongly opposes the provision allowing abortion even in full-term pregnancies. I also made clear that it is wrong for the state to encourage abortion by covering it under health insurance,” Moon said.

Moon also called for active participation from the faithful in opposing the proposed changes in the law.

“I especially hope women in the Church will clearly voice their thoughts and positions,” Moon said.

“Now is the time to fully engage in the pro-life movement, so I ask the faithful to unite their strength,” Moon emphasized.

Moon said that he intends to relaunch the pro-life movement on a large scale in all dioceses of the country through the Family and Life Committee, Vatican's Fides news agency reported.

He aims to "reawaken the sense of the mission and vocation to protect life from its beginning to its natural end," the prelate said.

The aim is to "raise a prophetic cry," while returning the important issue of the inalienable respect for human life to public debate and becoming the subject of political action, he added.

The pro-life movement, which works at the national level, aims to include, network, and coordinate with various existing initiatives in the regions.

The movement will coordinate with "Project for Unborn Life," created to help mothers in need avoid abortions by connecting them with Catholic healthcare facilities.

It will also work with the "Life 31" movement, which promotes the "Culture of Life" through various cultural activities and upholds respect for life from the moment of conception to death, Fides reported.

**-- This is a translated and edited version of the report published by the Catholic Times of Korea on Aug. 27.