Japan’s anticipated approval of medical abortion pills may come with a hurdle, requiring women to get approval from their partners before doctors will give them the drugs that have been available for decades in many parts of the world.
The country is considering an application from pharmaceutical company Linepharma International for the tandem medications to terminate pregnancies — mifepristone and misoprostol, currently in use in more than 70 countries.
"In principle we believe that spousal consent is necessary, even if an abortion is induced by an oral medication,” Yasuhiro Hashimoto, director of the health ministry’s Child and Family Policy Bureau, said at a parliamentary committee this week, indicating that the medication could not be sought by a woman alone.