Japan Permits Abortion Pill

After the health ministry approved the drug used to terminate early-stage pregnancy, the abortion pill will be made available in Japan for the first time.

Abortion is allowed in Japan up to 22 weeks, however consent from a husband or partner is normally necessary, and surgical abortion was once the only option.

The ministry informed healthcare officials on Friday that it had approved the medicine manufactured by the British pharmaceutical company Linepharma.

The pharmaceutical company submitted its medication, a two-step mifepristone and misoprostol therapy, for approval in Japan in December 2021.

Similar medication is available in many countries including France, which first approved the abortion pill in 1988, and the United States, where it has been available since 2000.

The approval of the pill to end pregnancies up to nine weeks follows a ministry panel endorsement, which was postponed for a month as thousands of public opinions were submitted.

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National broadcaster NHK said the total cost of the abortion pill and a medical consultation would be around 100,000 yen ($700). Abortions are not covered by public health insurance.

Surgical abortions can cost around 100,000 to 200,000 yen.

Mifepristone has been at the centre of a high-profile US court battle in recent weeks.

The US Supreme Court has temporarily preserved access to the widely used abortion drug, freezing rulings by lower courts that would have banned or severely restricted its availability.

Campaigners in Japan are also pushing for better access to the morning-after pill, which prevents pregnancy.

Emergency contraception cannot currently be bought in Japan without a doctor’s approval. It is also the only medicine that must be taken in front of a pharmacist to stop it being sold on the black market.

AFP

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