페미니스트 관점의 신제도주의 분석을 통해 본 한국 낙태죄 폐지의 숨은 정치

초록

Combining new institutionalism and feminist perspectives, this study analyzed the changes in abortion regulations in South Korea as an institution that was enacted in 1953 and automatically repealed in late 2020 due to legislative failure, and illuminates the hidden gender politics of the period after the unconstitutional decision. The data used in the study came from newspaper articles, parliamentary records, existing research, and in-depth interviews with activists and parliamentary officials. Applying the gradual institutional change model of new institutionalism, we found that the institutions regulating abortion throughout the period were characterized by a persistent state of drift (neglect). The hidden gender politics that maintained the drift after the unconstitutional ruling were as follows. First, while the women's movement perceived the Constitutional Court ruling as a transformative moment for decriminalization, the order contained in the ruling was based on a binary framing of the right to life and the right to self-determination and functioned as a powerful norm that greatly limited alternative legislation aimed at decriminalization. Second, while the administration, which was relatively friendly to gender equality, adopted a neutral stance, it showed the gendered nature by adhering to the position of maintaining the abortion law in the legislative process. Third, the parliament used a strategy of inaction and silence until the legislative deadlines passed, which led to the automatic abolition of abortion regulations. The abortion issue was peripheralized and poorly addressed in the legislative deliberations. The women's movement embraced the strategy of automatic repeal, believing that there was no point in compromise legislation that maintained the existing system.

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