2 abortion questions

1)if a foreign student aged 18 wishes for an abortion, is it possible without parent's consent?
2)im not quite sure about the legal age of abortion in japan but i wonder if my friend's status as a foreign student and her age might affect the abortion procedures.
2)for around say 5-6 weeks of pregnancy,how much money she and her partner would have to pay in yen?

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+6...

- Views seem to differ concerning whether minors can have abortion without the parents' consent. The law says it's allowed as long as the couple agrees, but some hospitals seem to feel uncomfortable without parents' consent (at least they don't openly say it's OK) if the parties involved as junior/senior high school students, because they might want to hide the fact from their parents and choose any hospital who says it's OK.

- The range is said to be from 150,000 - 300,000 yen, so if in the earlier weeks, it will be closer to the lower end of the range.

thanks for your reply..but isn't 18 and above the legal age for abortion?
and may i ask if she lost her foreign immigration card, would she still be able to undergo abortion surgery with her passport,insurance card or the lost form provided after applying for a new foreign immigration card?

Go to a private doctor and s/he will do abortion with much less money, usually 5-70,000 yen. If she is 18, there won't be an issue with a permit from her parents...

tamu,

In Japan "minors" are defined as those under 20 - these things vary from one country to another.

I have no idea about the immigration card (exactly what do you mean?), but some ID such as passport would be fine, I imagine, as the hospitals/doctors would be concerned more about her and the unborn's condition rather than on paperwork. Just be sure she gets her own and her partner's consent on paper.

It is no wonder there are obstetricians who ask "Does your parent know this?" when a girl of 18 hopes an abortion operation. Cautious hospitals would check whether she's got pregnant willingly. Conscientious doctors may seek real happiness to her and her partner.

Mother's Body Protection Act says nothing about parental agreement for a minor to undergo an abortion operation. Essentially it is not a girl's parent to decide things regarding her child, as long as she is alive in good health.

However, strictly speaking, it's not necessarily very easy for a minor girl to hold a contract of an abortion operation under laws of Japan.
Civil Code states that a minor must obtain the consent of his/her statutory agent to perform a juristic act (Article 5).
Civil Code provides that a minor shall be deemed to have attained majority if he/she enters into marriage (Article 753), while it also states that a minor shall obtain the consent of at least one parent to marry (Article 737). A girl before reaching 16 or a boy before reaching 18 can not marry (Article 731).

tamu,
Insurance does not cover abortion operation. Even among Japanese women/girls, if minors ever get concerned about parental issue, and if they do not want to have that stress, some seem to say they are 20 or over (you do not need to show insurance card) in order to be given that operation. I'm not suggesting that you do it that way, but I'm more concerned about the physical health of the person in questioin.

Provided she has the consent of herself and her partner (in writing) she should be able to find medical help. Please do find a hospital rather than
worrying about paperwork.



Omotenashi-san,
I hope that you will try to provide information that is truly *helpful* to people in emergency situations such as the woman original poster is
referring to here.

The law states the requirements for a woman to have an abortion - circumstances that require an abortion themselves ARE emergency - which do NOT include parental consent. And Civil Code is not really applicable here...

The rest is up to the hospital the woman visits/inquires at. If the girl looks just simply too young, then the hospital might ask her if her parents know, but I don't think that will be an issue here. So I simply hope that the woman the original poster is talking about finds a good hospital that takes good care of her. That is what matters, does it not?

That girl also badly need counselling asap. First an abortion is not something easy to do, physically and emotionally, and may bring post traumatic disorder later. .secondly, reading between the lines, I fear that she (she is likely the poster) is totally lost in a bewildering world. Pregnancy doesn't just happen by a fluke for example...
There are ways of being totally intimate that are pregnancy proof and she need to know for the future.....
Years ago a young man at work (in Canada!!!) had 2 different girl friends pregnant at the very same time .he was both overjoyed and scared and had no idea of the legal pickle he was in (child support etc.). We found out that he was from a very religious family and didn't know the first thing about sexuality and reproduction. To him children just "happened" without any rhyme or reason.

AK-san:

Yes, "the woman finds a good hospital that takes good care of her" is a priority matter.

Without knowing the situation precisely, help I can offer to tamu-san is just to hope that the things will go well.
Therefore I think hiding inconvenient aspects can not be helpful in reality. If a doctor OKs, apparently without question, to perform an abortion operation on a girl of 18, then that might be either ultimate mercifulness or blatant irresponsibility.

Asked "isn't 18 the legal age for abortion?" and AK-san answered, leaving nothing to add about legal requirements but those by Civil Code.
Supposedly in consideration for severe emergencies, as to abortion operations, Mother's Body Protection Act doesn't require written consent of the couple, nor does it require any consent of the person's parent.
Even while Civil Code is applicable to contracts of medical operations (if not, patients can not file a lawsuit against surgeons), I guess the intent of this Act may have priority of some kind.

//