Women in Japan fight for the right to sterilisation surgery

August 6, 2024 11:37 AM

These women want to be sterilised — they have to fight the law, their country, family and history. Women in Japan face a $4800 fine if they have a sterilisation procedure without their spouse's consent, but there is now a fight to have that changed.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (8 comments total)

The dropping birth rate and patriarchal Japanese society are gonna make that tough row to hoe. I wish them the best of luck in that.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 11:52 AM on August 6 [3 favorites]

Policies like this aim to subordinate women's bodies as means (outside of their control) to others' ends, and I can't see how they're not repellent.
posted by lookoutbelow at 12:05 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]

Give Japan hell, women.

I got way more than enough static getting my tubes tied in the US in my mid-20s. Fortunately, I wasn't married yet, so that particular bit of patriarchal bullshit didn't come up.

Also, if there's a fund for helping Japanese women in this grotesque situation, I'd contribute. Paying it forward.
posted by humbug at 12:15 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]

A $4800 fine?

If the penalty for a crime is a fine, then that law only exists for the lower class.
posted by Phssthpok at 1:02 PM on August 6 [18 favorites]

Un-fucking-believable
posted by gottabefunky at 1:39 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]

One scary through is how many folks in the US would be totally on board with these kinds of laws.
posted by gottabefunky at 1:42 PM on August 6 [8 favorites]

If the penalty for a crime is a fine, then that law only exists for the lower class.

Even if it were only $1, a financial penalty against someone's human rights can never only be $1. It symbolizes powerlessness against arbitrary laws. It would be taking $1 + dignity.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:20 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]

Wish them the best of luck and success. Thanks for posting!
posted by JoeXIII007 at 3:46 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]