Japan to decide on abortion pill following panel’s agreement
- Abortion is legal in Japan up to 22 weeks, but a surgical procedure is currently the only option and consent is usually required from a spouse or partner
- UK firm applied to authorities for approval of its pill, which can be used in early pregnancy; similar are available in many countries including France and US
Japan’s health ministry will soon decide whether to make abortion pills available for the first time after the proposal cleared a major hurdle with endorsement by a government panel on Friday.
Abortion is legal in Japan up to 22 weeks, but a surgical procedure is currently the only option and consent is usually required from a spouse or partner.
British pharmaceutical firm Linepharma applied to Japanese health authorities in December 2021 for approval of its abortion pill, which can be used in early pregnancy.
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.
A ministry official said an expert panel had reviewed the proposal and “saw no problem with approving it”.
Japanese media reports said the drug could become legal for doctors to prescribe as early as March.