She Went to Doctor for Shot, Mistakenly Got an Abortion

"The doctor and nurse have acknowledged their fault," police tell CNN, in a jarring case out of South Korea. Police say a pregnant woman visited a clinic in Seoul on Aug. 7 to get a nutritional shot—and had an abortion unknowingly performed on her instead. A nurse allegedly mistook her for another patient and administered anesthesia. Police say neither the nurse nor the doctor verified the woman's identity during the ensuing procedure. She had been six weeks along. The Korea Herald reports that, concerned over bloody discharge, she returned the next day and learned what had transpired.

The nurse and doctor are being investigated on charges of professional negligence. The Herald explains an abortion without consent charge isn't being pursued after police determined the woman could not have given or withheld consent since she wasn't aware of what was to take place. Abortion remains largely illegal in South Korea—it's permitted in cases of rape or incest, for instance—though those laws are being reworked ahead of a Dec. 31, 2020, deadline. (More on the country's April abortion ruling here.)