TOKYO: After the health department approved the medication used to end early-stage pregnancy, the pregnancy medication may be made available in Japan for the first time.
In Japan, pregnancy is permitted for up to 22 weeks, but usually only with the consent of a spouse or partner. Up until this point, the only method had been surgery.
The ministry announced on Friday( Apr 28 ) that it had approved the drug produced by the British pharmaceutical company Linepharma in a notification to healthcare officials.
In December 2021, the pharmaceutical company submitted its two-step solution of mifepristone and misoprostol for authorization in Japan.
Similarly medications are sold in many nations, including France, which approved the contraception pill for the first time in 1988, and the US.
Following a government panel endorsement that was postponed for one month due to the influx of thousands of people opinions, the tablet to end pregnancies for up to nine weeks has been approved.
According to national broadcaster NHK, the abortion pill and associated medical care would set you back about$ 100,000( US$ 700 ). Public health coverage does not cover pregnancies.
Surgical abortions can cost between$ 100,000 and$ 200,000 per procedure.
Mifepristone has been the subject of a prominent US court case in recent days.
The widely used abortion medication has been partially made accessible by the US Supreme Court, which has also frozen lower court decisions that would have heavily restricted or outlawed its use.
Additionally, proponents in Japan are calling for easier access to the morning-after tablet, which prevents pregnancy.
Presently, purchasing emergency contraceptives in Japan requires a doctor’s consent. In order to prevent it from being sold on the black market, it is also the only medication that must be taken in front of a physician.