The Spanish Parliament approved legislative amendments on the introduction of menstrual days off and the lowering of the age limit for voluntary abortion on Thursday in Madrid.
Pursuant to the provision, after its entry into force, women whose menstruation is accompanied by unbearable pain will be entitled to sick leave financed by social insurance, which can be used for the necessary period. However, their condition must be indicated in their medical history.
According to the amendment approved by the legislature, the age limit for voluntary abortion is reduced from 18 to 16 years, which does not require the consent of parents or guardians, and also extends to people with disabilities.
The three-day reflection period prescribed before the decision in favor of the intervention will be abolished, as will the mandatory information on alternative options and maternity benefits.
The law guarantees the right of conscience to health professionals about whether to perform an abortion, but the intervention must be available in all public institutions.
In Spain, it is possible to apply for a voluntary abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy, after which the intervention can only be performed if the pregnancy poses a serious risk to the woman’s life or health, or if the fetus develops severely abnormally.
In the southern European country, around 90,000 abortions were performed in 2021, 85 percent in private clinics.
The amendment to the law recognizes forced abortion, sterilization, forced pregnancy, and surrogacy as forms of violence against women. It bans advertisements in which companies offer their services as intermediaries for foreign surrogacy programs.
The Spanish parliament also adopted the so-called trans law, which was introduced by the government with the aim of equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.
The legislation states that free self-determination and capacity to act is the only condition for changing gender in the civil registry for those over 16 years of age, it does not require parental consent, a medical opinion, or preventive hormone treatment.
The new law prohibits the use of conversion or re-education therapies that aim to change sexual orientation and gender identity. It also guarantees access to artificial insemination procedures for lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people capable of pregnancy.
MTI
