Rival parties clashed on the 27th over plans to introduce the abortion pill mifepristone during a comprehensive audit by the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee. The People Power Party said the government was rushing the rollout at President Lee Jae-myung's direction, while the Democratic Party countered that the policy was prepared in response to repeated requests from lawmakers.
Lee Man-hee of the People Power Party, who chairs the committee, told Health and Welfare Minister Jung Eun-kyeong at the audit that the issue required caution. "We are not saying it should not be introduced. Because this concerns the lives and health of the public, we are saying it should be handled carefully," he said. He added that if the ministry is the lead agency, it should speak with its own clear voice on the matter. "Isn't it the case that whenever the president tosses out a remark, each ministry scrambles to follow it?" he said.
The government plans to introduce the abortion pill as early as the first quarter of next year for women up to nine weeks pregnant.
The Democratic Party pushed back against the opposition's claim that the policy had been hastily pursued on presidential orders. Rep. Lee Soo-jin said, "After the bill was introduced, we spent nearly two years asking the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to come up with measures." She added, "Lawmakers made consistent requests, and the government prepared this in response."
When Rep. Lee Dal-hee of the People Power Party said, "When we mention a 'top-down policy,' many lawmakers raise their voices," and argued that revising the relevant laws should come first, Rep. So Byung-hoon of the Democratic Party responded, "I am older than the president or the prime minister. I would appreciate it if you refrained from at least saying this is 'an order from above' or that we are 'doing as told.'"
Lawmakers also said the legislative gap should be closed before the drug is introduced. Rep. Cho Bae-sook of the People Power Party said, "The government decided that for the first two years the drug would be administered directly at hospitals, on the grounds that pharmacists who dispense it could face criminal punishment." She asked, "Shouldn't the question of punishment under the criminal code be settled before the drug is actually used?" Jung replied that the Ministry of Justice was preparing the criminal code matters. She also said the government would draw up its own alternative to the Mother and Child Health Act and cooperate with the National Assembly's deliberation on the bills.
On the drug's safety, Jung said the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety was reviewing the approval and that further review was needed on how to define the risk management plan. "Women's safety is the most important thing," she said. "We will consult with the medical community and prepare to put in place a safe-use system."