This is forwarded to the list for the following background information
on birth control in Japan, etc.
At 01:24 PM 12/1/97 -0500, David A. Tatum wrote:
Prolog:
[...] "Akane, please, calm down and hear what I
have to say- please, I don't want you to think that I don't love you,
please... listen to me. Akane... AKANE, I LOVE YOU! Please, calm down and
hear me out first." Akane stopped struggling. 'He just said that he...
he... loves me!'
If they're married I sure hope he's said that to her at least one time
before! But it's certainly fine for her to not quite yet be used to
hearing it. ^_^
Akane's mood lifted a little. "Oh, is that all?" She giggled a little,
though her mood was effected by the memories of what happened. "Well, for
one thing, you don't need to worry about that- I've got protection... I
went on the pill
Not in Japan; the pill is illegal there, although that might change soon.
Condoms are the preferred method for married couples.
An AltaVista search for "birth control" AND Japan AND pill NEAR illegal
found the following short relevant URLs:
http://tokyo.to/mag/probe.html
http://www.burrelles.inter.net/services/nigh9611.htm
http://207.254.79.20/infcon.htm
A few days, maybe a week afterwards, I started getting sick in the
mornings.
It takes about ten days for the embryo to get implanted and grow to
the point where it starts producing the hormone that causes morning
sickness (source is _The Merck Manual_).
Silence rained for a few seconds. Surprisingly, it was Souun who broke it.
"Well, of course you're family... In fact, if you want, I'll make it
official by adopting you two."
Akane and Nabiki gasped. Ranma blinked. Genma started examining his long
time friend, wondering if there was any physical evidence of what caused
the sudden loss of his sanity. Even Kasumi didn't seem entirely
comfortable with the idea.
I'd like to think better of Kasumi....
Then again, the "Kasumi who's protective of her family" might well be
concerned.
Thanks for continuing this promising storyline.
- Harold