• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.18 no.10
• /
• pp.657-668
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study was to give a deep understanding of the structure and essence of the living experiences for unmarried mothers before childbirth and before pregnancy. As results, the theme 'days stained with wounds' reveals the living experience that they were abandoned or not protected by parents due to broken family relationships and function. In the theme 'daily life at stake', to drop out of school and running away from home led them to precarious life. And also they were early exposed to sexual intercourse due to indiscriminate sexual culture and poor sex awareness. The theme 'embarrassing pregnancy' shows that unmarried mothers got pregnant caused by their partners'refusal to practice contraception, their incorrect knowledge of the contraception, and the use of incorrect contraceptive methods. In the final theme 'childbirth decided on with difficulty', even if unmarried mothers had no choice in childbirth because they noticed their pregnancy too late, they rejected abortion and decided to give birth as they realize preciousness of life. Based on the results of this study, the necessity of implementing sex education to provide accurate contraceptive knowledge and methods for male, as well as strengthening sex education for unmarried mothers was discussed. With the help of information technology.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.11-38
• /
• 2009

"Bioethics" may have various meanings depending on its roles. It may mean professional ethics for scientists and physicians, etc. It may also mean an academic discipline using interdisciplinary approach as well as a philosophical or a legal approach. "Bioethics" as an interdisciplinary study should often deal with public policy on bioethical issues. I call this role bioethics as a study of bioethics policy, which has to be developed as a new discipline. From this perspective, I deal with bioethical issues relevant to a human life before birth. There are various and often conflicting arguments about the moral status of a human life before birth such as the fertilization argument, the argument of genetic identity, so-called the "14 days" argument focusing on the formation of primitive streak, the argument of sentient being, and Michael Sandle's argument of an embryo as a being between a thing and a person. I argue that each of them is reasonable. Thus we are faced with reasonable disagreement on the views over whether a human life before birth has the same right to life as that of a person or whether right to life may be considered to be a matter of degree. If we acknowledge reasonable disagreement, as John Rawls pointed out, we should tolerate the views from ours in a plural society. Therefore, we cannot help making a policy that allows abortion and embryonic research with some limitations. When we say a certain act is morally permissible, "moral permissibility" does not mean that the act is morally right for all. Rather it means that the act cannot help being morally allowed for some persons although the others do not believe its moral rightness because they cannot right now rationally persuade others to accept their view.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Disaster Information Conference
• /
• 2022.10a
• /
• pp.201-202
• /
• 2022

산업의 발달과 자연환경의 급속한 변화로 재난은 어떠한 모습으로 우리곁에 나타날지 모릅니다. 아무도 예상하지 못했던 코로나19는 전 세계 모든 사람들의 삶을 바꿔놓았습니다. 우리나라는 저출산과 의학의 발달로 인해 급속도로 고령화 사회로 접어들고있고 재난상황에서 이동이 취약한 노인의 재난안전 매뉴얼 및 안전교육에 대한 요구가 높아지고있습니다. 이를 위해 노인의 취약성 분석, 기존 매뉴얼 분석이 필요합니다. 재난은 예방을 통해 발생했을 때 대응할 수 있는 능력을 갖추어야하고 사전에 반복학습을 통해 대응능력을 키우는 것이 가장 중요합니다. 재난은 누구나 처음격게 되면 대처능력이 부족합니다. 철저한 대비만이 재난을 국복할 수 있습니다. 이동이 취약한 노인의 경우 재난 대피 상황에서 몸에 익힌 대응눙력만이 자신의 생명을 구할 수있습니다. 재난 안전매뉴얼에 대한 포괄적인 재난안전 분석을 적용, 현실가능하게 하는 다양한 연구가 필요합니다.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.186-189
• /
• 2007

More than 6,000 rare disorders including genetic diseases have been reported. Of them, 1,500 diseases (1,211 for clinical diagnosis and 289 for research only) are technically possible for genetic testing. In Korea, since 2005, only 63 genetic diseases is permitted for prenatal genetic testing by the "Bioethics and Biosafety Law". The article 25 in the law prescribes 63 genetic diseases without clear indication for its selection and inclusion criteria. In EU, USA, and other foreign countries, however, there is no provision in the statute on prenatal genetic testing; it is not restricted by a law. Recently, a woman (Mrs. L, 38y) who is a carrier for Menkes disease made an appeal to a government for an amendment of the "Bioethics and Biosafety Law" prohibiting the prenatal diagnosis of her pregnancy at risk for Menkes disease. Menkes disease (MNK) is an X-linked recessive disorder characterized by neurodegeneration, connective tissue defects and hair abnormalities, and no effective treatment is available yet. The prevalence rate of MNK is one in about 250,000 live births. Menkes syndrome patients fail to absorb copper from the gastrointestinal tract in quantities adequate for meeting nutritional needs. These needs seem particularly acute during the initial 12 month of life, when the velocity of brain growth and motor neurodevelopment. Most of pts. die around 3yrs. of age. Mrs. L had a boy with Menkes disease who died at 2y.o. in 2001. Subsequent pregnancy in 2003, she was able to have prenatal genetic testing for mutation of the Menkes (ATP7A) gene and delivered a healthy baby boy. Now, She is pregnant again and wants to have prenatal diagnosis. however, this time, she was not allowed to have any more because Menkes disease is not included in 63 genetic diseases permitted by the law for prenatal genetic testing, in spite of the fact that she is a Menkes disease carrier and her pregnancy is at risk to have an affected baby. This case shows the practical problem of the legal restriction for prenatal genetic testing in Korea. In this study, we report a arguable case and discuss the controversial issues in the legal restriction for prenatal genetic testing in Korea.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.894-901
• /
• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine obstetrical & gynecological health status and body composition for married female immigrants. The participants were 154 immigrant women living in Busan. Data were collected from July 2008 to July 2009 using a questionnaire and a bioelectrical impedance analysis tool (Inbody 720) for analysis of body composition. Most subjects were in the normal range for body composition, but some of those who answered the questionnaire had experienced some gynecological problems such as dysmenorrhea, or irregular menstruation. There was a significant difference in experiences with in vitro fertilization, pregnancy and abortion according to age and in premensturaion syndrome, as well as differences in regulation of menstruation during the past year, leukorrhea odor, experiences in in vitro fertilization, and delivery and breastfeeding according to nationality. There were significant differences in body mass index and waist-hip ratio according to age, as well as differences in percent body fat, body mass index and waist-hip ratio according to nationality. There were also significant differences in body mass index and waist-hip ratio according to period of stay in Korea. Procreative care protocols concerning married female immigrants' characteristics should be developed.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.20 no.7
• /
• pp.1078-1085
• /
• 2010

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) are bioaccumulative chemicals that are considered to be toxic contaminants based on several epidemiological studies. These chemicals in colostrum were investigated and estimated for their residual consistencies by maternal characteristics like parity and maternal ages. Test subjects were healthy primipara and multipara mothers with a mean age of 31.5 (S.D=3.6) in 2007. Seven isomers of PCDDs, 10 of PCDFs, 4 of non-orthopolychlorinated biphenyls(non-ortho PCBs) and 8 of mono-orthochlorinated polychlorinated biphenyls (mono-ortho PCBs) were analyzed by HRGC/HRMS. From the analyzed data, the mean level of total WHO-TEQs was 9.41 pg TEQ/g lipid, which is significantly lower than the level found in individuals from other countries. The main contributors to the total WHO-TEQs with increasing percentages were 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF, 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD and 3,3',4,4',5-PCB (#126), and they accounted for more than 60% of the total WHO-TEQs. PCDFs concentrations and total WHO-TEQs were negatively associated with parity (p<0.05), and maternal age was positively associated with total WHO-TEQs (p<0.01). However, the associations with body mass index (BMI) and fish intake during pregnancy were not significant. These results were suggested that parity and maternal age are an important factor affecting the concentrations of PCDD/DFs and dl-PCBs in these specimens.