Abortion in Japan

Japan and Abortion

Japan criminalized abortion in 1880; therefore, any woman who had a "back alley" or self performed abortion would be prosecuted (Kato. 2009). Nevertheless many women still continued to use these unconventional methods. After World War II it was obvious the high birth rate was causing overpopulation, which was becoming a threat to the war torn country. So in 1948 the government passed the Eugenic Protection Law, known as Maternal Protection Law today, (Kato. 2009) legalizing abortion and hoping it would help slow the growth. The newly passed law allowed women to have an abortion but only under specific conditions.

The Maternal Protection Law allowed women to have abortions performed under the following circumstances: If a woman and her partner had any type of mental or physical disability, the women had been raped, the women could experience serious injury during childbirth, or if the woman would be financially unable to support the child. Even with the specific qualifications, women merely need to locate the right physician to have an abortion performed (Kato. 2009).

The views in Japan are not like those in the Unites States in reference to if a woman is murdering a life. It is more of a burden that lies on the shoulders of the women who have the abortion. Many of these women will pray to a statute known as mizuko jizo because of a fear that the act of aborting her child will cause her life to be cursed. Regardless, the debate of whether it is a life or a fetus is not typical in this country (WuDunn. 1996).

Similarly to the United States culture, 18 is the legal age of consent in Japan, meaning any women 18 of over can have an abortion without the need of parental consent (Japan- age of consent n.d.). Similar to the argument for pro-choice, the Japanese law does allow a woman to terminate her pregnancy in the event she is raped. This is one specific circumstance specifically outlined in the Maternal Protection Law (Kato. 2009). Because a woman traditionally becomes the primary caretaker of the child, she should be able to determine if an abortion is the right choice for her life.

Contraceptives have not been readily available in Japan; therefore, many women turn to abortion as a means of birth control (Japan-United Nations. n.d.). A woman only needs a physician willing to say she meets one of the criteria to have the abortion performed. Because it is a lucrative business, many physicians are willing to look beyond whether the woman meets the criteria or not. It appears the physicians are not held accountable for the fraudulent activity they are performing (Kato. 2009).

In conclusion, Japan has a law in place to allow women to have a limited form of choice; however, that law is abused. Using abortion as a form of birth control is not acceptable and should be prohibited. Rather, the public should be educated of the benefits and use of contraceptives.