Sick leave for menstrual cramps, paid leave from the 36th week of pregnancy until childbirth, abortion from the age of 16 without parental permission, free birth control products and limits on surrogacy are some of the measures provided for in the draft the abortion law that the Spanish Ministry of Equality will present tomorrow, Tuesday, in the Council of Ministers.
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The so-called ‘Organic Law for the Protection of Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the Voluntary Guarantee of Pregnancy’ includes a provision that repeals the 2010 abortion law, thereby constituting a new one. This means that it needs the support of the absolute majority of Congress for its approval. There is then a long process to go, but the road begins now.
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period health
One of the novelties that has generated the most debates is that related to menstruation. The draft proposes three-day sick leave (which can be extended to five) for painful and disabling rules.
It also provides for the free supply of feminine hygiene products in educational centers, places of care for women at risk of exclusion and prisons. Eventually, the distribution would be extended to all public agencies. Another measure he proposes is the elimination of VAT on feminine hygiene items.
Provides free supply of feminine hygiene products in educational centers, places of care for women at risk of exclusion and prisons.
Sick leave due to painful menstruation has sparked controversy. For some, it can be harmful to the woman because it could work against her at the time of employment. For others, its recognition constitutes an advance in the search for equality.
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According to Cristina Añoranzas, vice president of the General Union of Workers, the important thing is to achieve “that the pain of the period, if they are disabling, are valued in the same way as other types of circumstances and illnesses, without the need to make gender distinctions” .
The Government delegate against Gender Violence, Victoria Rosell, estimates that the risk of discrimination is minimized if the State assumes these sick leave.
Carolina Vidal, Secretary for Women, Equality and Working Conditions of the Workers’ Commissions, affirms that “the occupational health of women is not the same as that of men” and that it is necessary to seek “rights that protect them”.
The measure would cover about 15 percent of the female population, the proportion that is estimated to suffer from period pain. If approved, Spain would be the first country to provide menstrual sick leave in Europe. Similar regulations are in place elsewhere, including Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan and Zambia.
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In Spain it already works in two municipalities: in Girona and Castellón, where women are allowed to take time off work, as long as they make up the days afterwards.
abortion
The draft maintains the current deadlines for abortion. That is to say, it is free until the 14th week of pregnancy and from that moment the therapeutic one is allowed: the one that occurs due to medical causes, such as malformation of the fetus or danger of death for the mother.
It also contemplates that women can terminate pregnancy from the age of 16 without the permission of parents or guardians.
It also contemplates that women can terminate pregnancy from the age of 16 without the permission of their parents or guardians. This measure had already been in force in the law since 2010, but had undergone a modification in 2015 that re-imposed the age of majority to make the decision.
“In the same way that they are responsible for working or having sex, they are responsible for deciding about their bodies,” said the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, promoter of the project, referring to the 16 and 17-year-old girls.
The rule seeks that all women have equal access to abortion in the public system. It provides for a registry of medical conscientious objectors, who must be registered in advance and who cannot practice in the public or private sector. Currently, about 85 percent of pregnancy terminations occur in accredited clinics in concert with public health, because there are entire public hospitals that accept conscientious objection to not perform them.
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contraceptives
The project seeks to facilitate access to contraceptives. In this way, it promotes the distribution of hormonal contraceptives and the morning-after pill, financed by public coffers. They would be dispensed in institutes (high schools), educational centers, places of social services and prisons.
rental bellies
The norm starts from the basis that surrogacy constitutes a form of violence against women. That is why it prohibits the advertising of this service and punishes Spaniards (or residents) who seek it abroad.
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The preparation of this draft began in July of last year and may still undergo changes until it reaches the Council of Ministers on Tuesday. If he gives him the green light, he would still have a period of debates to reach agreements with the ministries involved, such as Health and Finance, and then a discussion with the rest of the parliamentary groups.
JUANITA SAMPER OSPINA
TIME CORRESPONDENT – MADRID
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