보호출산제의 시행과 향후 과제

Enforcement of the protected birth and subsequent issues

Due to concerns over the side effects of the Birth notification system, which could lead to attempts to give birth outside of hospitals and increase risks to the health and lives of mothers and infants, the Act on Supporting Pregnancies in Crisis and Protected Births and Children Protection was enacted. This resulted in the introduction of the Protected birth system, which came into effect alongside the Birth notification system on July 19, 2024. However, the introduction of the Protected birth system has been controversial from the beginning, and criticisms of the specific contents of the Act have also been raised. Therefore, this article examines the main contents of the Act and the Protected birth system, and reviews the issues of the detailed points to explore the future tasks of the Act and the Protected birth system. Unmarried immigrant women and their children born from them are excluded from the application of the Protected birth system. However, it is not desirable that those who need more protection are excluded from the scope of the Act, so in the future, it is necessary to ensure that the Protected birth system applies to immigrant women and their children. The broad scope of guardians who can make crucial decisions such as determining protected births, and the lack of consideration for potential conflicts of interest among the parties involved, could result in the infringement of the rights of pregnant women in crisis and children, necessitating improvements. There is also a problem in the operation of the Act and the Protected birth system where the rights of biological fathers are not sufficiently reflected. The Act needs to stipulate the obligations of biological fathers, ensuring that their genetic disorders or other health conditions can be collected for the health of the child, even if the father does not wish it. Considering the right of the child to know their bloodline and origins, it is necessary to comprehensively review the regulations on the disclosure of birth certificates and the introduction of remedies by the court in the future. Currently, it is difficult to confirm the effects and side effects of the Protected birth system, and it remains at the level of mere expectations. However, if sufficient cases are accumulated in the future and analyses and reviews based on solid evidence in reality are conducted, it will be possible to more clearly confirm the pros and cons that the Protected birth system will bring to our society. It is necessary to monitor the trends of the Protected birth system.