- Reaction score
- 1,696
Three decades after the abortion pill became available to women in the UK, Japan is inching closer to approving the drug – but there is a catch. Under the new law, it is expected that it will only be prescribed with the consent of the woman’s partner.
Legislation to approve medical abortion pills is winding its way through Japan’s parliament after British pharmaceutical company Linepharma International applied last year to market a combination of two drugs for the purposes of abortion. A decision is expected before the end of the year.
Women’s rights groups have criticised the legislation as it requires the woman’s partner to agree to the termination - under the same rules that apply to surgical abortion - but also because it has taken so long for Japan’s male-dominated political and medical communities to consider it.
They point out that medical abortion - which can be used to terminate a pregnancy in the early stages without surgery - has been available in many parts of the world for decades.
They also note that while oral contraceptives were only legalised in 1999 after a drawn-out nine-year legal debate, Japanese politicians took just six months to approve Viagra, the erectile dysfunction medication produced by Pfizer Inc.
Questioned by a parliamentary committee earlier this month, a health ministry bureaucrat stated that the standards required for a surgical abortion under the 1948 Maternal Protection Law should be applied to the morning-after pill.
“In principle, we believe that spousal consent is necessary, even if an abortion is induced by an oral medication,” said Yasuhiro Hashimoto, the head of the ministry’s child and family policy bureau.
www.telegraph.co.uk
Legislation to approve medical abortion pills is winding its way through Japan’s parliament after British pharmaceutical company Linepharma International applied last year to market a combination of two drugs for the purposes of abortion. A decision is expected before the end of the year.
Women’s rights groups have criticised the legislation as it requires the woman’s partner to agree to the termination - under the same rules that apply to surgical abortion - but also because it has taken so long for Japan’s male-dominated political and medical communities to consider it.
They point out that medical abortion - which can be used to terminate a pregnancy in the early stages without surgery - has been available in many parts of the world for decades.
They also note that while oral contraceptives were only legalised in 1999 after a drawn-out nine-year legal debate, Japanese politicians took just six months to approve Viagra, the erectile dysfunction medication produced by Pfizer Inc.
Questioned by a parliamentary committee earlier this month, a health ministry bureaucrat stated that the standards required for a surgical abortion under the 1948 Maternal Protection Law should be applied to the morning-after pill.
“In principle, we believe that spousal consent is necessary, even if an abortion is induced by an oral medication,” said Yasuhiro Hashimoto, the head of the ministry’s child and family policy bureau.
Abortion pill won’t be available to Japanese women without partner’s consent
Use of the drug would fall under the same rules that apply to surgical abortion, sparking criticism from women’s rights groups
www.telegraph.co.uk
