Japan Hospital Denies LGBTQ Woman Support for IVF Pregnancy

A woman who became pregnant through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) was recently denied treatment at a hospital in Japan. An LGBTQ+ advocacy group is now calling on the government to ensure equal access to medical support for all pregnant woman.

Japan requires women to be in a heterosexual relationship in order to access IVF, leading to many pursuing such treatment overseas. In addition, a notable lack of legislation regarding donated sperm has led many Japanese hospitals to be wary about accepting pregnant women . This particular woman, who is in a same-gender relationship, became pregnant through IVF. However, when she went to the hospital for a checkup, she was turned away. According to the hospital’s ethics committee, this case was an unprecedented situation, and so the institution decided to refuse the woman its services.

Kodomap, a Tokyo-based organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ advocacy, called on the Japanese government to ensure that “all women, regardless of their marital status or how they became pregnant, can receive appropriate obstetrics treatment.” According to representatives, occurrences such as these happen because of prejudice or even simple lack of understanding when it comes to LGBTQ+ healthcare. Koji Takahashi, a senior official who helped manage the request, agreed. He ensured Kodomap that the government would send notices to hospitals, hoping to avoid a repeat of the situation in the future.

Unfortunately, LGBTQ+ healthcare in Japan is often in jeopardy. A law which required transgender citizens to be sterilized was only recently ruled unconstitutional, and Japan is the only G7 nation that doesn’t legally recognize same-gender unions (though hopefully recent rulings in district courts may change that). This spring, the government was asked to pass a law promoting understanding of the LGBTQ+ community, but the final bill that went through came with few guarantees of change. But hopefully, with organizations such as Kodomap fighting for equality, we can start to see progress.