Can Same-Sex Couples Help South Korea Boost Birth Rate?

It's worth noting that same-sex marriage is still illegal in South Korea, and doctors refuse to perform artificial insemination on women without a male partner. "A lot of single people and lesbian couples around me want to have children. I think that will contribute a lot to the birth rate," said Kim Eun-ha.

Kim Eun-ha, 33, takes a photo of Park Cho-hyeon, 28, at a restaurant in Suwon, South Korea. Photo: Reuters

While campaigns to legalize same-sex marriage have been successful in Taiwan (China) and Thailand, there is no legal recognition for LGBT couples in South Korea. Many couples are forced to move abroad if they want to marry or have children.

South Korea has spent billions of dollars trying to stem its population decline, but its population is expected to shrink for a fourth consecutive year in 2023. Couples fear having children will hurt their career prospects, and the financial cost of raising children is causing many South Korean women to delay having children or not have them at all.

Kim Ji-hak, head of the non-profit Diversity Korea, said the government should acknowledge diversity if it is serious about raising the birth rate. "If we become a society where people don't have to worry about health care, education, labor and aging, people will want to have more children," Kim said.

However, doctors still refuse to perform artificial insemination on single women and same-sex couples due to guidelines from the Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 2022, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea proposed revising the guidelines, but nothing has changed yet.

For Kim Eun-ha and Park, who live with their dog Whipping and also run a YouTube channel to raise awareness of LGBT issues, the lack of recognition for LGBT unions is the biggest obstacle to boosting the birth rate.

The couple plan to move to Australia to get married before thinking about having children. "I think the only way to start solving everything from child-rearing, healthcare to housing is to recognize marriage for same-sex couples. Only when this form of love is recognized, everything else becomes possible," said Kim Eun-ha.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/cac-cap-dong-gioi-co-the-giup-han-quoc-tang-ty-le-sinh-post301721.html