- Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
- BBC News, Tokio
August 31, 2022
image source, Getty Images
Abortion is once again at the center of public debate. But while in the United States it seems to be going backwards, due to the ruling of the Supreme Court of that country that stopped considering it as a “constitutional right”, in Japan it is advancing, although in a peculiar way.
In May, the Ministry of Health told Parliament that they were ready to approve an abortion pill made by the British pharmaceutical company Linepharma International.
However, they clarified that women will still need “get your partner’s consent” before the pills can be administered, a requirement that abortion activists have called patriarchal and outdated.
Medical abortions, using pills instead of surgery, were legalized in France 34 years ago. In the United Kingdom in 1991 and the United States in 2000.
In many European countries, this is now the most common way to terminate a pregnancy. The pills account for more than 90% of abortions in Sweden and around 70% in Scotland.
A conflicting record
Japan, meanwhile, not only has a poor record on gender equality, but has been extremely slow in approving medicines related to women’s reproductive health.
image source, EPA
The decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the United States to stop considering abortion as a “constitutional right” has placed the issue of the interruption of pregnancy in the public debate.
Japanese activists joke that it took the country 30 years to approve the contraceptive pill, but only six months to approve Viagra for male impotence. Both were available in 1999, but the latter came first.
And if the delay wasn’t enough, the birth control pill comes with restrictions, making it expensive and difficult to use.
It all goes back to the way abortion was legalized in Japan.
Although Japan in 1948 became one of the first countries in the world to pass a law that decriminalized the termination of pregnancy, the regulations were part of the Eugenics Protection Law.
The decision had nothing to do with giving women more control over their reproductive health. Rather, it was about prevent the birth of “inferior” people.
Article 1 of the law stipulates that the purpose of the law was “to prevent the birth of inferior descendants from the eugenic point of view and also to protect the life and health of the mother.”
The instrument was reformed in 1996 and renamed the Maternal Health Protection Law.
But many aspects of the old law survived. Thus, to this day, women who wish to have an abortion must obtain written permission from their husband or, in some cases, from their boyfriend.
Ota Minami became pregnant after her boyfriend refused to use a condom during sex. Condoms remain the main form of birth control in Japan.
image source, Getty Images
Japan is preparing to approve an abortion pill developed by a British company, but to use it women in that country will have to request written permission from their husbands or boyfriends
However, she later refused to sign the document that would allow her to have an abortion.
“It’s strange, I had to ask her to use contraception,” he told the BBC. “And when she decided that she didn’t want to use a condom, I needed your permission to abort“.
Ota went on to say, “The pregnancy happened to me and my body, but I needed someone else’s permission. made me feel powerless. I couldn’t make a decision about my own body and my future.”
Japanese views on abortion are often influenced, rather than by religious ideas, by a long history of patriarchy and deeply traditional views on the role of women and motherhood.
“It’s very deep,” admitted Ota. “When a woman gets pregnant in Japan, she becomes a mother, she’s no longer a woman. Once you’re a mother, you’re supposed to give up everything for your child. It’s supposed to be a wonderful thing. It’s your body, but once you you’re pregnant, it’s not your body anymore.
In the clouds
Obtaining an abortion pill can also be difficult and expensive, estimated at up to US$700, as it is likely to involve being admitted to a hospital or clinic, for the sake of protecting women’s health.
The activist Asuka Someya believes that greater education and allowing women to obtain contraceptives will save many problems and, above all, suffering for Japanese women.
“In Japan, after taking the abortion pill, the woman has to stay in hospital so we can monitor her. It will take longer than a traditional surgical abortion,” Dr. Tsugio Maeda, deputy director of the Japan Gynecological Association, told the BBC. .
Women’s sexual health activists argue that this has no scientific basis and that seeks to protect a lucrative business.
“I think a lot of decisions are made by older men who will never have a child,” said activist Asuka Someya, who heads a pro-abortion organization.
Asuka argues that there is still great resistance in Japanese society to facilitating abortion.
The argument is that if it makes it easier for women to have abortions, the number of those who do will increase. So, they make it a difficult and expensive process.
image source, Getty Images
Japanese society is very conservative, and when women become pregnant, their role as mothers is expected to take precedence not only over their professional careers, but even over their status as women.
But, as evidence from other countries shows, limiting women’s choices will only increase their suffering and will not prevent the termination of unwanted pregnancies.
The activist advocates for better sex education and for Japanese women to take control of contraception, rather than relying on men to use condoms.
In Europe, the contraceptive pill is the most common form of birth control. In Japan, only 3% of women use it.
I want more policies listening to the voices of girls and women“, he concluded.
Now you can receive notifications from BBC World. Download the new version of our app and activate it so you don’t miss out on our best content.