Global Courant 2023-04-29 17:55:00
TOKYO — The abortion pill will first become available in Japan after the Ministry of Health approves the drug used to terminate pregnancy at an early stage.
Abortion is legal in Japan up to 22 weeks, but consent from a spouse or partner is usually required.
Until now, surgery had been the only option.
The ministry said in a notification to health officials on Friday that it had approved the drug from British pharmaceutical company Linepharma.
The drugmaker submitted its product, a two-step treatment of mifepristone and misoprostol, 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 pill’s approval to terminate pregnancies up to nine weeks follows approval by a ministerial panel, which was delayed a month after thousands of public opinions had been submitted.
National broadcaster NHK said the total cost of the abortion pill and a medical consultation would be about 100,000 yen (S$980). Abortions are not covered by the public health insurance.
Surgical abortions can cost about 100,000 to 200,000 yen.
Mifepriston has been at the center of a high-profile lawsuit in the US in recent weeks.
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily upheld access to the widely used abortion drug, freezing lower court rulings that would have banned or severely limited its availability.
Campaigners in Japan are also pushing for better access to the morning-after pill, which prevents pregnancy.
Emergency contraception cannot currently be purchased in Japan without a doctor’s approval.
It is also the only drug that must be taken in the presence of a pharmacist to avoid being sold on the black market. AFP
