But abortions are cause for deep personal disquiet in Japan, as they are anywhere else. And though abortions are performed by licensed practitioners, the surgery is not entirely without risk. By encouraging more abortions than would otherwise be performed, the restrictions on the pill add unnecessarily to the health hazards facing Japanese women. Moreover, about 200,000 women use oral contraceptives under a loophole that allows doctors to prescribe them as a means of regulating menstrual disorders. That means the women who really are using the pill only to avoid conception are also subjected to risks unnecessarily.
Japan is a major contributor to family planning organizations around the world.
Even so, the most powerful argument is that legalizing the pill gives women additional control over their own reproductive lives. In the three decades since the advent of oral contraceptives, the world has had ample time to understand that their benefits far outweigh their disadvantages. The decision on whether to use them should rest with individual citizens. Japanese authorities have run out of excuses. All Rights Reserved.