The World On arirang

The South Korean government proposed a bill to allow abortion until 14 weeks of pregnancy, in response to last year’s landmark ruling by the Constitutional Court that overturned the existing ban on abortion. But the proposal has drawn criticism from both sides of the abortion debate, with women’s rights groups arguing the ban should be lifted altogether and religious groups claiming it justifies the killing of the unborn. Abortion is legal in many states in the U.S. up until 24 weeks. But under the Trump administration, state are increasingly introducing bills that restrict access to abortion. France and Germany permit abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, while the Netherlands allows it up until 22 weeks. Meanwhile, an annual survey that tracks global views on abortion found that support for abortion has decreased in Europe and increased in Latin America and Asia. In this week’s edition of Foreign Correspondents, we sit down with our panel of journalists to talk more about abortion laws around the world and controversies surrounding them.

Panelists
- Steven Borowiec / Nikkei Asian Review
- Ann Babe / U.S. News and World Report
- Morten Larsen / Freelance Journalist