The Principles of Maternal Protection Act and Its Operation: From the standpoint of Japan Medical Association.

The new executive board of Japan Medial Association (JMA) was established in April 2010, and various committees were reorganized. The project committee “Committee on Maternal Protection Act and Prenatal Medicine” was established under the regular committees that are in charge of prenatal care and Maternal Protection Act. JMA asked Dr. Toshihiko Terao, President of Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (JAOG), to serve as the committee chair, in order to ensure that there are no inconsistencies in the opinions between JMA and JAOG that is in charge of the actual operation of the law. In addition, we established the “study subcommittee regarding the right to appoint Designated Physicians under Maternal Protection Act” in order to immediately respond to the problem regarding the right to appoint certain physicians to serve as Designated Physicians under Maternal Protection Act (hereinafter referred to as DPs), who are allowed to legally perform the induced abortion procedure in Japan. Dr. Shigeru Fukuda, President of Kumamoto Medical Association and the only obstetrician of all 47 prefectural medical association presidents in Japan, was asked to serve as the subcommittee chair. We also invited Dr. Terao, Dr. Kazuhiro Shirasu (in charge of medical laws in JAOG), and obstetricians who serve as board members of prefectural medical associations to participate in the subcommittee to reflect the ideas of prefectural medical associations. With the reform of the public interest corporation system that is in progress in Japan,*2 the right to appoint DPs became an issue that concerns all medical associations.