Consent issue casts shadow on safe abortion in Japan

BY KATHLEEN BENOZA
Sep 28, 2023

As the world observes International Safe Abortion Day on Thursday, there is growing focus on the movement in Japan for safe and accessible abortion practices. The recent approval of the first abortion pill in the nation offers a glimmer of hope, but archaic rules governing consent — rooted in Japan's eugenics history — persist, casting a shadow on safe access.

The 1996 Maternal Health Act, which includes the spousal consent law, evolved from the 1948 Eugenic Protection Act, which opened the path for legal abortion. The former abolished eugenic provisions to create the law Japan follows today.

Continued: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/09/28/japan/science-health/international-safe-abortion-day/

28.09.2023

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Eugenic Protection Act

International Safe Abortion Day

Kumi Tsukahara

Maternal Health Act

Misako Iwamoto

Reproductive Health Rights Literacy Institute

spousal consent for abortion

Japan panel approves nation’s first abortion pill

BY KATHLEEN BENOZA
Apr 21, 2023

A health ministry panel on Friday approved the country’s first abortion pill, which would provide an alternative to a surgical procedure amid calls for progress in women’s reproductive rights and gender equality.

The ministry announced the move after a secondary panel reviewed 12,000 public comments collected online. Final approval from the health minister is expected to follow, but the timing remains unclear.

Continued: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/04/21/national/abortion-pill-japan-approval/

Japan moves toward approving abortion pill in major shift

KATHLEEN BENOZA
Feb 27, 2023

Japan is moving closer to approving an abortion pill for the first time, a step that could offer women more options amid calls for progress in gender equality, with a secondary panel at the health ministry expected to make a decision as early as March.

In January, an initial advisory panel at the health ministry approved the production and sale of the drug, Mefeego. It still needs approval from a separate panel at the ministry as it collects public comments online until Tuesday, with the final decision to be made by the health minister.

Continued: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/02/27/national/japan-abortion-pill-debate/

27.02.2023

Professional Women’s Coalition for Sexuality and Health

Abortion in Asia: The limits of choice

The overturning of Roe v. Wade could be a watershed for U.S. women's rights. Is the same true in Asia?

ISMI DAMAYANTI, KIRAN SHARMA and ARISA KAMEI, Nikkei staff writers
JUNE 15, 2022

"Keeping it was never an option," says Rara, a woman in her 20s from Jakarta, Indonesia.

It was 2017 and Rara (not her real name) was studying communication at a private university in the capital. After falling pregnant by her unmarried partner, who had another girlfriend at the time, she felt she could not disappoint her devout Muslim parents.

Continued: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Abortion-in-Asia-The-limits-of-choice

15.06.2022

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Association of Women for Action and Research

Catholic Church

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China National Health Commission

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Michiyo Ono

National Population and Family Planning Commission

Nguyen Thi Thuy Hanh

Novia Widyasari

Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network

PINSAN

Roe v. Wade

sex selection abortion

Shailey Hingorani

Soshiren

spousal consent for abortion

Japan urged to abolish third-party consent from abortion law

Restrictions amount to ‘sexual assault’ on women by Japanese state, say rights campaigners

Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Mon 27 Sep 2021

Women’s health campaigners have urged Japan’s government to amend a law that forces married women to seek consent from their husbands before they can have an abortion.

Japan is one of only 11 countries that require third-party consent for abortions, despite calls to end the practice by the World Health Organization and other groups.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/27/japan-urged-to-abolish-third-party-consent-from-abortion-law

27.09.2021

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Kazane Kajiya

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World Health Organization

Expanding access to safe abortions in Japan

BY MAGDALENA OSUMI, STAFF WRITER, JAPAN TIMES
May 2, 2021

Choosing to get an abortion is not an easy decision to make. But women in Japan who do so, due to a variety of reasons, may soon have a safer alternative to surgical procedures — currently the only option they have.

LinePharma, a British pharmaceutical maker, is planning to seek the Japanese government’s approval for the use of its first oral “abortion pills” in Japan as a safe and affordable method of inducing abortion in early stages of pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/05/02/national/japan-safe-abortion/

02.05.2021

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Linepharma International

Japan – 3 sue gov’t over forced sterilizations, abortion under former eugenics law

3 sue gov't over forced sterilizations, abortion under former eugenics law

June 28, 2018 (Mainichi Japan)

SAPPORO/KUMAMOTO -- A Hokkaido couple and a Kumamoto Prefecture man sued the Japanese government on June 28 over forced sterilizations and abortion under the now defunct eugenics protection law (1948-1996) for violating their constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness and their reproductive rights.

The cases filed in the Kumamoto and Sapporo district courts call for a total of 55 million yen in compensation from the central government. The plaintiffs also argue that the government and the Diet failed to take measures to aid victims after the eugenics law was revised in 1996 to become the current Maternal Health Act.

Continued: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180628/p2a/00m/0na/001000c