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Japan health ministry panel approves nation's first abortion pills
Friday, April 21, 22:18
Japan is one step closer to approving abortion pills for the first time after an expert panel at the health ministry gave the go-ahead on Friday.
The panel approved the use of Mefeego Pack developed by British pharmaceutical company LinePharma.
The medication consists of two types of pills. It can be used within nine weeks of pregnancy.
In a clinical trial in Japan, 93 percent of participants had a complete abortion within 24 hours.
About 60 percent of them experienced symptoms such as abdominal pain, but most cases were mild or moderate.
The ministry is expected to give formal approval soon. The World Health Organization lists Mefeego Pack as an essential medicine, saying that it is safe and effective.
One of the pills, mifepristone, suppresses the hormones necessary to maintain a pregnancy. The other, misoprostol, causes the uterus to contract.
Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency says mifepristone was first approved in France in 1988 and had been used in more than 65 countries and regions as of September last year.
Misoprostol has been approved in more than 93 countries and regions. The agency says these pills are prescribed online in France and Britain.
Only surgical abortion has been available in Japan until now. In the curettage method, tissues inside the uterus are removed with a metal instrument. The evacuation method sucks tissues out with a plastic tube. Both can be used at the same time.
The WHO has been calling for an end to the curettage method, arguing that it is two or three times more likely to damage the uterus or cause bleeding than the evacuation method.
The agency also says the curettage method causes severe pain to women who undergo it, and recommends the oral or evacuation method.
Japan health ministry panel approves nation's first abortion pills | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
