PHM-Exch> Call for petition on decriminalizing abortion in Japan!

[Claudio Schuftan]

 from: globalsecretariat at phmovement.org
Web: www.phmovement.org


----From: Allies Law Office / Space Allies <allies at crux.ocn.ne.jp>


To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you all about million signatures campaign for
decriminalizing abortion in Japan.
Here is the address of the website for our 'million signatures campaign',
and it will be really appreciated if you could circulate this to whoever may
be interested in. This is a petition in order to abolish the article in the
Penal Code in which women and those who practiced abortion are criminalized.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Allies12/petition.html<http://www.petitiononline.com/Allies12/petition.html>

As Japan is a donor country, Japanese law on abortion has an impact on many
developing countries through the policy of the official development
assistance by the Japanese government.

The Japanese Penal Code prohibits the performance of all abortions. Penal
Code stipulates "when a pregnant woman causes her own abortion by drugs or
any other means, imprisonment with work for not more than 1 year shall be
imposed" in its article 212, although the Maternal Protection Law justifies
abortion on the ground of medico-economic reason and rape, under the
autorization of her spouse.

The concluding observations announced by the CEDAW Committee in August 2009,
after its review of the sixth periodic report of Japan, are as follows:

"The Committee recommends that the State party (Japan) amend, when
possible, its legislation criminalizing abortion in order to remove punitive
provisions imposed on women who undergo abortion, in line with the
Committee's
general recommendation No.24 on women and health and the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action".

But the Japanese government will not try to change the law. So we strongly
urge the new Japanese government to abolish the provisions under the Penal
Code that criminalize abortion.

We have launched one million signatures campaign for decriminalizing
abortion. We would appreciate it if you would sign this form in order to put
pressure on the Japanese government to decriminalize abortion.

Thank you in advance.

Kind regards,
 Fumi Suzuki, NGO"Space Allies" / Allies Law Office (Japan)
allies at crux.ocn.ne.jp
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