Japan’s Ministry of Health approves the country’s first abortion pill

24 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

A panel of Japan’s Ministry of Health has approved the use of an abortion pill, the first that can be used legally in the country, in response to popular clamor for greater reproductive rights.

The Ministry would have created this panel to review around 12,000 comments collected asking for the approval of the pill, which would mean an alternative to the surgical procedure that is available in the country and that is the only legal way to perform an abortion currently in Japan.

This review responds to a request from the British drug company Linepharma, which in 2021 sought approval of the abortion drug it manufactures, Mefeego –which includes two types of drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol– for distribution in the UK. asian country.

The health minister is expected to approve the panel’s decision so that it can then be implemented by the government, although the timing has not yet been confirmed, according to ‘Japan Times’.

Still, the move is not without controversy. The drug would not be covered by Japanese health, so reproductive rights activists have raised concerns about the possible cost of the pill.

The current policy that requires the consent of the husband in married people before beginning the process is also a matter of debate, something that the Ministry of Health has confirmed would be equally necessary with the pill.