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In Japan, abortion is legal — but most women need their husband’s consent Japan’s male-dominated society has been slow to grant women the reproductive rights taken for granted in many other developed countries
Washington Post ^ | June 18, 2022 | Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Julia Mio Inuma

Posted on 06/18/2022 11:35:34 PM PDT by Morgana

KUMAMOTO, Japan — The discreet path to a safe space for women with unwanted pregnancies is marked with an unassuming sign: two smiling storks, carrying a clover leaf and a smiling baby in a basket.

Here, at Japan’s only “baby hatch,” women can anonymously leave their babies at Jikei Hospital to be put up for adoption. It’s a last resort for those who are unable or unwilling to raise a baby, with some women coming from across the country because they have nowhere and no one else to turn to.

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn a 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, there is a global spotlight on reproductive care — including in Japan, which has some of the tightest restrictions on abortion among wealthy nations.

Japan is one of 11 countries — and the only one of the Group of Seven largest economies — that mandate that women get their spouse’s consent to obtain an abortion, with very few exceptions, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, an international organization. In practice, advocates say, the requirement often applies to unmarried women, too, and has led to rare and tragic instances of women leaving their babies in public places to die — something the Jikei Hospital baby hatch is meant to address.

Abortions are legal, but only with an expensive surgery. Contraceptive use is low. Morning-after pills are expensive and only available by prescription. Japan is weighing whether to make abortion pills available. The World Health Organization calls their use a safe and noninvasive way to terminate a pregnancy.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: abortion; japan; prolife
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To: Morgana

WaPo is for diversity until it is diverse.


21 posted on 06/19/2022 2:35:23 AM PDT by Flick Lives
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To: Morgana

Japan desperately needs all the babies it can get.


22 posted on 06/19/2022 4:00:41 AM PDT by FLT-bird
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To: MinorityRepublican

A homogeneous society is their greatest difference.


23 posted on 06/19/2022 4:45:47 AM PDT by EEGator
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To: Morgana

The BBC did an exhaustive story on the many restrictions on abortion in Europe. Most countries there have strict limits after the first trimester.


24 posted on 06/19/2022 4:48:07 AM PDT by Ge0ffrey
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To: Morgana

Why is this an American headline ?


25 posted on 06/19/2022 4:57:23 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.q at)
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To: Morgana
" Japan is NOT America when it comes to women's rights. "

Which, while not sanctioning abuse, is overall better in this respect. Thus WaPo has Japan in its bombsight to politically nuke.

26 posted on 06/19/2022 5:34:47 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him who saves, be baptized + follow Him!)
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To: fieldmarshaldj
"Japan is weighing whether to make abortion pills available. The World Health Organization calls their use a safe and noninvasive way to terminate a pregnancy." WHO. The good folks that helped bring us Covid now call killing a baby "safe.

And we thought it promoted quarantining (which the womb provides) as safe.

27 posted on 06/19/2022 5:37:37 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him who saves, be baptized + follow Him!)
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To: Jonty30

“The last thing Japan needs, in its era of economic collapse, is mass access to abortion.”

And considering their population trends, I would have to double-agree with you. I don’t know the adoption situation there, but the baby-hatch idea seems like a good way to handle the situation.


28 posted on 06/19/2022 5:59:01 AM PDT by BobL (My hatred of Necons/Globalists exceeds my love of Ukraine or any other country, other than the US)
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To: sushiman

“In a lot of cases in Japan the grandparents will help bring up the child .”

That’s a really good point. In fact, considering the health and longevity of the Japanese (assuming they stay in Japan), I suspect even great grandparents can be very helpful.


29 posted on 06/19/2022 6:01:31 AM PDT by BobL (My hatred of Necons/Globalists exceeds my love of Ukraine or any other country, other than the US)
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To: Ge0ffrey

“The BBC did an exhaustive story on the many restrictions on abortion in Europe. Most countries there have strict limits after the first trimester.”

QUIET!!! You idiot, we’re not supposed to know that!


30 posted on 06/19/2022 6:02:31 AM PDT by BobL (My hatred of Necons/Globalists exceeds my love of Ukraine or any other country, other than the US)
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To: Arcadian Empire; nickcarraway
"What stereotypes about mothers and fathers respectively are you basing your view on?"

I would say that you also must be asked that question since it is common for Westerners to impose its stereotypes about mothers and fathers upon others. And of course, to attack anything less than liberal feminism.

I cannot answer your question as to attitudes toward pregnancy in Japan, and the Internet today responds to questions about that with little direct or unbiased info, but of interest is that,

Pregnancy-related costs are not covered by Japanese health insurance because it's not a form of "sickness." However, clinic costs are decently low in comparison to the US. For example, a checkup and ultrasound are less than $40. Also, Japanese women's clinics are very female-oriented. This might be expected since it's for women, but the Japanese take it to another level. Just be prepared for medical help with a "kawaii" (or cute) influence. - https://discover.hubpages.com/health/Pregnancy-in-Japan
Pregnancy in Japan has been cultivated to manage the mother and instill habits to create a bond between parent and child. Though pregnancy is “less medicalized, supervised, and socially manipulated” in Japan than in Israel (Ivry 4), there seems to be a fundamental different system of values in place. Pregnant Japanese women are heavily encouraged to monitor their diets and even talk to their children while they are still in the womb to encourage intelligence and a stable relationship once the child is born. - https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/religionandbioethics2019/2019/02/24/pregnancy-in-japan-and-israel/#:~:text=Japanese%20pregnant%20women%20are%20seen%20as%20%E2%80%9Cless%20threatening%E2%80%9D,to%20create%20a%20bond%20between%20parent%20and%20child.

And, Pregnant In Japan: 15 Things They Do Differently

31 posted on 06/19/2022 6:16:04 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him who saves, be baptized + follow Him!)
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To: Flick Lives
" WaPo is for diversity until it is diverse."

Worse, WaPo and the Left is for perversity in all its diversity.

32 posted on 06/19/2022 6:18:01 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him who saves, be baptized + follow Him!)
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To: Morgana

What happened to respecting diversity and cultural differences? /s


33 posted on 06/19/2022 7:16:39 AM PDT by newzjunkey (“We Did It Joe!” -The Taliban / “Thanks Joe!” -Putin)
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To: Morgana

Japan...too many babies!


34 posted on 06/19/2022 8:22:16 AM PDT by If You Want It Fixed - Fix It ( )
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To: metmom

You are correct. It is about killing not reproducing. Just more sanitizing of the language by the left.


35 posted on 06/19/2022 1:46:44 PM PDT by deek69
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To: Morgana

Japan needs all the Japanese children they can produce. The birth rate is below replacement.

Japanese divorce laws are also very different from US laws, in that they normally need agreement of both parties unless just cause (infidelity, physical abuse, etc) exist. This means that women are not going to financially clean out their husbands in divorce. Japanese divorce rates are half US rates.


36 posted on 06/19/2022 2:20:00 PM PDT by SauronOfMordor (A Leftist can't enjoy life unless they are controlling, hurting, or destroying others)
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To: Morgana

Interesting. My read is that Japan is non-Christian but still very pro-family (at least in law).


37 posted on 06/19/2022 6:51:43 PM PDT by Salman (It's not a "slippery slope" if it was part of the program all along. )
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