Japan Has Started A Trial To Allow Women To Buy The Morning-After Pill Without A Doctor’s Approval
The morning-after pill will be available over the counter at pharmacies until March 2024 as part of the trial.
Japan has started a trial that will allow women to buy the morning-after pill without a prescription.
Currently, women have to go to a clinic or hospital in order to get a prescription for emergency contraception, even if they have been sexually assaulted.
As part of the trial, the morning-after pill will be available at pharmacies with trained pharmacists and private rooms.
The move comes after the country finally approved the abortion pill in April.
Surgical abortions up to 22 weeks of a pregnancy are legal in Japan but have always required partner consent, unless certain circumstances were met, such as unidentifiable partner, death of partner, rape or when the mother’s life is in danger.
If women underwent abortion procedures without a partner’s consent or faked their signature, they could face up to one year in prison.
The emergency contraceptive trial will run until March 2024.
Japan will now temporarily join about 90 other countries that allow emergency contraceptives to be sold over the counter, according to government data.
Just weeks earlier, the country also finally raised the age of sexual consent from 13 to 16.
The law was proposed after the acquittal of several accused rapists in 2019, which sparked public outrage.
Previously, Japan had the lowest age of sexual consent among developed countries.
