20s Woman Undergoes Abortion at 36 Weeks Pregnant
Visited Multiple Obstetrics Clinics for Surgery
"Felt Like My Belly Was Burning and Tearing" - Post-Surgery Impression
Netizens Outraged: "At 36 Weeks, It's Fetal Murder"
A woman in her 20s has sparked outrage by posting a video claiming she underwent an abortion procedure while being 9 months pregnant (36 weeks).
An ultrasound image verified by a woman claiming to be nine months pregnant. [Photo by YouTube capture]
On the 27th of last month, a video titled "Total surgery cost 9 million won, 120 hours like hell" was uploaded on YouTube. In the video, Ms. A said, "I had an unwanted pregnancy at 24," and continued, "Around March, when my period stopped, I visited an obstetrics and gynecology clinic and was told it was due to polycystic ovary syndrome and hormonal imbalance, so I didn’t suspect anything and just thought I had gained a lot of weight. But something felt off, so I visited a hospital."
Ms. A explained, "Foolishly, I thought there was a problem with my body and made an endoscopy appointment and went to internal medicine," adding, "It was at the internal medicine department that I found out I was pregnant." She also revealed ultrasound images showing the ultrasound examination and the fully developed fetus. The obstetrician who treated Ms. A advised, "Can you hear the heartbeat? I believe you didn’t take any medication or drink alcohol. (At around 9 months) you should give birth. You cannot terminate it."
However, Ms. A visited three other obstetrics and gynecology clinics besides the initial hospital to get an abortion procedure and eventually underwent the abortion. Ms. A said, "All the other clinics except the one that said the abortion was possible responded that it was impossible. I wanted to die because of the result caused by my indifferent attitude," and added, "I immediately underwent a surgical abortion on the same day. It was my first time under general anesthesia and lower body anesthesia, so I was scared, but everything was my fault."
Later in the video, Ms. A was seen lying on a hospital bed wearing a urinary catheter, implying she had undergone the abortion procedure. She said, "Every time I walk, it feels like my abdomen is burning and being cut with a knife," and "It’s still hard to get up by myself." The video did not include any information about what happened to the fetus. After being hospitalized, Ms. A showed herself recovering diligently by eating seaweed soup and walking alone in the hospital room, but she made no mention of the fetus.
Netizens who saw the video expressed critical opinions such as, "At 9 months, that’s murder," "At 9 months, babies survive in incubators, don’t they?" "Please say you sent the baby to an orphanage," "How can someone show such a guiltless attitude?" "It’s unbelievable to not know you were 36 weeks pregnant," "How can there be such a devilish person?" and "You should have terminated it earlier. Getting an abortion after 9 months is no different from murder."
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court ruled in April 2019 that the criminal punishment provisions for abortion for pregnant women and doctors were unconstitutional. Since 2021, the criminal abortion law has been abolished, allowing abortion procedures to be performed without punishment. However, abortion surgery is allowed up to 24 weeks (6 months), but the period during which abortion is possible without specific conditions is up to 14 weeks (about 3 months). After 14 weeks, abortion is only allowed in cases of pregnancy between relatives, rape, or social and economic reasons. However, since the National Assembly has not revised abortion-related laws for over four years, some obstetrics and gynecology clinics have been secretly performing abortion procedures on pregnant women over 30 weeks.
On average, pregnant women give birth after 38 weeks (10 months). Births between 37 and 42 weeks are called full-term births, and babies born at 36 weeks are considered premature. Even for premature births, babies born after 34 weeks generally have no problems. According to research from Stanford University, fetuses born at 23 weeks (about 5 months) have a survival rate where one in two can receive treatment such as incubators and be discharged from the hospital.
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