{
  "id": 7675814,
  "title": "Seoul to consider introducing abortion pills: prime minister",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/seoul-to-consider-introducing-abortion-pills-prime-minister-7675814",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T01:32:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/20260916/seoul-to-consider-introducing-abortion-pills-prime-minister"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Seoul is considering the introduction of abortion pills for women up to nine weeks pregnant, according to Prime Minister Han Seong-sook. The government's decision comes as related regulations have not been revised since the Constitutional Court struck down the abortion ban in 2019. Prime Minister Han emphasized that safety is of utmost importance and that measures must be put in place to ensure women receive treatment within a safe medical system, rather than resorting to dangerous methods. The government plans to discuss the phased implementation of abortion pills for women up to nine weeks pregnant during a government policy coordination meeting. Initially, both prescription and dispensing would occur directly at hospitals for two years, with the potential for a shift to doctors prescribing and pharmacies dispensing when conditions are met.",
  "summary": "The government will consider allowing the use of abortion pills for women up to nine weeks pregnant, as related regulations remain unrevised following the Constitutional Court's 2019 striking down of the abortion ban, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said Wednesday. While such an institutional vacuum remains unclosed, some women are resorting to \"dangerous methods\" and the problem should no longer…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Seoul to consider introducing abortion pills: prime minister",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/seoul-to-consider-introducing-abortion-pills-prime-minister",
        "published": "2026-09-16T01:24:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Seoul to consider introducing abortion pills: prime minister",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/seoul-to-consider-introducing-abortion-pills-prime-minister-7680721",
        "published": "2026-09-16T02:07:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}