Government legislation ministry finds abortion medication import approvals do not violate Mother and Child Health Act

The government legislation ministry said that approving imports of pregnancy termination medication meeting safety and efficacy requirements would not violate the Mother and Child Health Act, because the law governs doctors' surgical procedures rather than medication.

The ruling answered a query from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety over whether provisions on surgical termination could bar medication imports. It found no provision in the statute that permits or prohibits medication or its import approval. Import approval under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act permits a medicine to enter and be distributed in the market; it does not decide whether a particular method of pregnancy termination is lawful.

The opinion also cited the Constitutional Court's April 11, 2019 constitutional nonconformity ruling on Criminal Act provisions concerning self-induced abortions and doctors' abortions, which lost effect on Jan. 1, 2021. It said the Mother and Child Health Act's limits on surgical procedures could not be read as an independent prohibition on other methods of pregnancy termination.

The food and drug safety ministry must grant an import approval when application materials meet the required conditions, including safety and efficacy, the ruling said, because the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act requires approval when all requirements are met and provides no separate discretionary standard.

The Minister of Gender Equality and Family said related ministries, including the food and drug safety ministry, should "actively review ways to introduce the medication even if the law is not amended."