Brave and angry women. Japan
Joicfp News 1998(287): 5
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0911-0755 PMID: 12293753 Document Number: 274522
The Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council of Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare recommended that the licensing of the low-dose oral contraceptive pill be postponed until further studies are conducted into the relationship between the pill and cervical cancer, the release of endocrine-disrupting chemicals into the environment from the urine and feces of women using the pill, and possible health problems in children of mothers who have taken the pill before pregnancy. The government of Japan decided in March to indefinitely postpone licensing of the low-dose oral contraceptive pill. Women, the Family Planning Federation of Japan, and other supporters in Japan are now working to educate the public on the issue and pressure the government to speed authorization. Japan is the only industrialized country in the world which does not provide access to the pill. Without the low-dose oral contraceptive pill, women in Japan practically have no effective female method of contraception since neither implants, injectables, nor copper IUDs are authorized. Not only does the government's position compromise the reproductive rights and health of women in Japan, it also runs counter to Japan's status as one of the largest donors to international population and reproductive health programs.