February 6, 2023 (Mainichi Japan)
An advisory panel to Japan's health ministry has given the green light to the manufacturing and marketing of an abortion pill known as "Mefeego Pack" after a British pharmaceutical company applied for its approval, paving the way for the use of the drug in Japan. After hearing public comments, the ministry will finalize a decision over whether to approve the medication.
If accepted, the oral pill will provide a new option in artificial termination of pregnancy, which is currently limited to surgical abortion in Japan.
In fiscal 2021, there were some 126,000 cases of abortion performed in the country. In the early stages of pregnancy, two types of surgical abortion are permitted: Curettage, in which the content inside the uterus is scraped out with a metal instrument, and vacuum aspiration, in which the content is sucked out.
Yet the World Health Organization (WHO) has pointed out that curettage, the mainstream abortion method in Japan, is outdated. Meanwhile, the WHO has recommended vacuum aspiration and abortion pills as safe and effective procedures.
Abortion pills are in use in more than 70 countries, after they were first approved in France in 1988. While the agent entails risks of adverse reactions such as vomiting, the practical use of the medication has long been sought after in Japan as it is expected to alleviate mental and physical burdens on women having abortions.
Given the global trends and it being more than 30 years since the development of abortion pills, their debut in Japan is long overdue. Let us hail the latest moves of the government.
At the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, the concept of "sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights" was introduced and has since taken root. The notion entails guaranteeing the right to self-determination over whether to give birth to a child or not and other matters concerning one's own body.
Yet this concept apparently has not gained sufficient understanding in Japan. Observers attribute the reason to the traditional family value of patriarchy and the low status of women in the country.
It is also problematic that Japan's Maternal Health Act requires spousal consent for abortion. As this hinders women from having an abortion at their own will, the United Nations has issued an advisory for Japan to amend the law, deeming it as discriminatory against women. According to the health ministry, the legal provision in question will be applied to the use of abortion pills once they are approved.
In cases where women get pregnant due to sexual violence or if they are unmarried, it is essentially unnecessary to gain consent from men for abortion. However, there is no end to cases where medical institutions require such consent before performing surgery.
These circumstances must be rectified. It is also necessary to enhance sex education at schools.
It is an urgent task to create a society where women's health and rights are protected. In tandem with approving abortion pills, the government is urged to undertake necessary reviews including updating the country's legal systems.
