ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on East Asia, specifically Korea and China. The two countries were chosen for their cultural similarity and especially for the operation of Confucianism as a philosophical construct along whose lines society functions. Both countries saw a move from pro-natalist to an anti-natalist policy, be it China’s policy of population control or the experimentation with family planning in Korea during the second half of the 20th century. The fundamental thesis is the slightly differential operation of Confucian understandings that influences abortion practice in the two regions and how the interface between the state and the publics was mediated through policies for national interest.
