Fetus gender test ban before 32 weeks of pregnancy ruled unconstitutional

The Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that the current medical law banning medical professionals from revealing the gender of a fetus before the 32nd week of pregnancy is unconstitutional. The court made the ruling against Clause 2 of the Medical Service Act's Article 20 by a 6-3 vote. The clause prohibits medical professionals from informing pregnant women or their families of the gender of the fetus before 32 weeks of pregnancy. The ban is intended to prevent abortion amid parents' traditional preference for boys over girls. The court said the ban is not appropriate as a means to achieve the legislative purpose of protecting the life of the fetus and unnecessarily restricts parents' right to have uninterrupted access to the fetus's gender information. In 2008, the same court issued a constitutional nonconformity ruling towards a now-defunct medical law clause stipulating an outright ban on pre-birth gender tests, leading to the enactment of the current Clause 2 of the medical law's Article 20, in th e following year. Recently, there have been mounting calls for ensuring parents' right to know the gender of the fetus, particularly because of the nation's declining fertility rate and the disappearing preference for boys. The latest constitutional petition was filed by a group of people who claimed that the controversial medical law clause infringes on parents' rights to access fetus gender information and pursue happiness, and medical professionals' freedom to practice their profession. Source: Yonhap News Agency