South Korean police arrested two doctors after allegedly aborting the wrong woman’s baby.
Seoul Gangseo police said on Monday that a gynecologist and a nurse were charged with professional negligence after not confirming the identity of a patient last month and then aborted a six-week pregnant Vietnamese who only intended to receive nutritional supplements Korea Herald reported.
The unidentified victim went to the hospital on August 7 to receive the prescribed treatments, but was taken to a delivery room where she underwent the procedure.
Investigators said the doctor and the nurse could not verify the identity of the patient and confused the medical records they were examining, according to the report.
The woman returned the next day after she started bleeding. It was at this time that he was informed of the procedure.
Abortions were generally illegal in South Korea until an April Constitutional Court ruling ended a 66-year law that made the execution of the operation punishable by up to two years in prison, the New York Times reported.
Women who are victims of rape, incest or whose health is at risk are not subject to this law.
The courts gave the government until the end of 2020 a review of the legislation decades ago.