Delay in approving emergency contraception, and the possible $780 cost, reflect priorities of male-dominated parliament, say critics
Women in Japan could be forced to seek their partner’s consent before being prescribed the morning-after pill, which will reportedly be approved late this year – almost four decades after it was made available to women in the UK.
Under Japan’s 1948 Maternal Protection Law, consent is already required for surgical abortions – with very few exceptions – a policy that campaigners say tramples over women’s reproductive rights.
