The Council of Ministers has approved this Tuesday, May 17, the preliminary draft of the reform of the abortion law that 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, young women will not need their parents’ permission to have an abortion– they also cover aspects of women’s health related to the menstrual cycle and pregnancy, such as sick leave for women with painful and disabling menstruation, or a paid leave from the 39th week 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 it will no longer be in force. vigor. The new rule has been previously discussed 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 the Congress to approve it, as required by organic laws. The Ministry of Equality wants to process the rule by the urgent procedure with the aim that it enters into force next year.
Main novelties of the new abortion law
As for the main novelties that it introduces, they can be divided into sections, and in the case of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, the following stand out:
- Women 16 and 17 years of age and women with disabilities can have an abortion without the consent of their mothers, fathers or legal guardians.
- Guarantee that abortions are carried out 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. The prior information that health professionals must provide in a mandatory way is that related to the health nature of abortion: what the intervention consists of and what types of methods exist, their risks and consequences, the centers available to perform it and the conditions of coverage. .
- You can choose the method for the voluntary interruption of pregnancy: surgical or pharmacological. And, in any case, they will be urgent procedures.
-
Temporary incapacity in cases of abortion: this period is established, whether the abortion was voluntary or not, so that the woman can recover.
-
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:
- Sick leave under medical supervision for those who have disabling periods with symptoms such as severe pain, cramps, colic, nausea, dizziness or vomiting. They will be paid from the first day by Social Security and would not have, as initially planned, any minimum or maximum limit of days. Unlike common diseases, they will not require a minimum contribution period either.
- Menstrual education, which must be addressed in a “comprehensive” manner in the classroom with the aim of combating “myths, prejudices and gender stereotypes generated by menstrual stigma.”
- 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.
- The reduction of the current VAT from 10% to 4% of items specifically intended for feminine hygiene, what was known as the pink rate, was being considered: pads, menstrual cups, tampons, also diapers and other items for incontinence. However, at the last moment this proposal will not be included after the Treasury refused to include it in this regulation.
- Combat menstrual poverty through the free distribution of menstrual products.
Reinforcements in reproductive health
This is another area 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 39 until the birth of the baby, which will not consume any day of leave due to birth. It was planned that this paid leave would start in the 36th week of pregnancy, but the initial proposal has not gone ahead.
- 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 compulsory sex education at all educational levels for access to sexual and reproductive rights. Sexual diversity, the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, and the approach to menstrual health with a gender perspective will be discussed.
- Free hormonal contraceptives, including long-acting contraceptives, and the morning after pill, which will be financed by public health (including the latest generation contraceptive pills). The health centers will distribute the morning-after pill free of charge and in sexual and reproductive health service centers.
- Promote male contraceptive methods, so that this responsibility does not fall solely on women.
- 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.
- A free telephone line specializing in sexual and reproductive health will be created.
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.
- It is excluded from the text of the new law to criminally prosecute those who resort to foreign countries to find a woman to rent her womb if they are Spanish or habitually reside in our country.
.
