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Japan approves abortion pill for the first time

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Agence France-Presse

<p>TOKYO, Japan -- The abortion pill will become available in Japan for the first time after the health ministry approved the drug used to terminate early-stage pregnancy.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/28/22/thailand-to-legalize-abortion-up-to-20-weeks">Thailand to legalize abortion up to 20 weeks</a></li></ul><p>Abortion is legal in Japan up to 22 weeks but consent is usually required from a spouse or partner, and until now a surgical procedure had been the only option.</p><p>The ministry said in a notification to healthcare officials on Friday it had approved the drug made by British pharmaceutical company Linepharma.</p><p>The drugmaker filed its product, a two-step treatment of mifepristone and misoprostol, for approval in Japan in December 2021.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/25/22/un-us-ending-abortion-right-a-blow-to-human-rights">US ending abortion right a ‘huge blow’ to human rights, says UN</a></li></ul><p>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.</p><p>The approval of the pill to end pregnancies up to nine weeks follows a ministry panel endorsement, which was postponed for a month as thousands of public opinions were submitted.</p><p>National broadcaster NHK said the total cost of the abortion pill and a medical consultation would be around 100,000 yen ($700). Abortions are not covered by public health insurance.</p><p>Surgical abortions can cost around 100,000 to 200,000 yen.</p><p>Mifepristone has been at the centre of a high-profile US court battle in recent weeks.</p><p>The US Supreme Court has temporarily preserved access to the widely used abortion drug, freezing rulings by lower courts that would have banned or severely restricted its availability.</p><p>Campaigners in Japan are also pushing for better access to the morning-after pill, which prevents pregnancy.</p><p>Emergency contraception cannot currently be bought in Japan without a doctor&#x27;s approval. It is also the only medicine that must be taken in front of a pharmacist to stop it being sold on the black market.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/24/22/us-supreme-court-strikes-down-constitutional-right-to-abortion">US Supreme Court strikes down constitutional right to abortion</a></li></ul><p>nf/kaf/pbt</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED NEWS FROM THE ARCHIVE</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2598758" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The ministry said in a notification to healthcare officials on Friday it had approved the drug made by British pharmaceutical company Linepharma.