The draft of the new abortion law that is expected to be approved on Tuesday, May 17, includes a series of measures that, in addition to establishing the conditions in which the voluntary interruption of pregnancy can be carried out – such as from the age of 16 years young women will not need their parents’ permission to have an abortion– they also contemplate aspects of women’s health related to the menstrual cycle and pregnancy, such as a leave of up to five days for women with painful and incapacitating menstruations, or a paid in the last month of pregnancy.
The text is known as the Organic Law for the Protection of Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the Guarantee of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy and includes a provision that repeals the current abortion law, which is from 2010, so that if it is approved as as it is written this would cease to be in force. The new rule will first be debated to reach an agreement with the ministries involved in its preparation, such as Health, Finance or Social Security, and then with the rest of the parliamentary groups in the Lower House, and an absolute majority of Congress would be needed to approve it, as required by organic laws.
Main novelties of the new abortion law
As for the main novelties that it introduces, according to the draft, they can be divided into sections, and in the case of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, the following stand out:
- Minors over the age of 16 can abort without the consent of their mothers, fathers or guardians.
- Guarantee that abortions are performed in centers of the public health system, and that each autonomous community organizes its resources in such a way as to ensure that women can interrupt their pregnancy in a public center, at least in the provincial capitals.
- Free abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy, and from that moment and until the 21st week, what is known as a therapeutic abortion can be carried out, that is, an interruption for medical reasons, such as malformation of the fetus or risk for mother’s life.
- Eliminate the three mandatory days of reflection that are currently established, and that it is not mandatory to provide information to women about the resources and help available in the event of continuing the pregnancy, but rather that this be done only if they request it.
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Registration of conscientious objectors in each autonomy, and that professionals who wish to register do so in advance and in writing; The document also specifies that, once declared objectors, these professionals will be so for both the public and private spheres.
Right to menstrual health
The new regulation considers that menstrual health is part of the right to health and indicates that stereotypes and myths about the period that still remain will be combated. In this regard, measures such as:
- Three-day sick leave under medical supervision, which can be extended to five, for those who have disabling periods with symptoms such as severe pain, cramps, colic, nausea, dizziness or vomiting.
- The current VAT of 10% on items specifically intended for feminine hygiene, which was known as the pink rate, will be eliminated: pads, menstrual cups, tampons, also diapers and other items for incontinence.
- Educational centers, those that provide social services for women in vulnerable situations and prisons will offer the necessary hygiene products for menstruation free of charge. And this measure will be progressively incorporated in all dependencies of public bodies.
Reinforcements in reproductive health
This is another of the areas that the new standard aims to improve with the implementation of measures such as:
- Approach reproductive health taking into account all the circumstances of each woman: from her age, to her economic situation or her origin, to avoid any type of discrimination.
- Paid leave before childbirth, from week 36 to the birth of the baby.
- Protocols against forced abortion, contraception and sterilization, with special attention to women with disabilities.
- Gynecological violence will be addressed as a form of sexist violence.
Sexual health against unwanted pregnancies and STIs
The norm intends that the entire population has access to sexual education that helps prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
- Guarantee sex education for access to sexual and reproductive rights at all educational levels.
- Free hormonal contraceptives, including long-acting contraceptives, and the morning-after pill, which will be financed by public health.
- Distribute these contraceptive methods in institutes within the framework of sexual education campaigns.
- Dispense barrier contraceptives in schools and prisons, and in those that offer social services, within one year.
Surrogate wombs as a form of violence
The text considers that surrogate motherhood or surrogacy are one of the forms of violence against women and includes:
- Prohibit the advertising of the agencies that offer these services and penalize the media that advertise them.
- That the Spanish courts can act against those who resort to foreign countries to find a woman to rent their womb (they would not be persecuted), if they are Spanish or habitually reside in our country.
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