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ARCHIVED - Spain approves abortion for 16-year-olds without parental permission
The new law aims to remove “obstacles” in accessing pregnancy termination in Spain
The Ministry of Equality has been fighting for almost a year to amend Spain’s abortion law which has been in place since 2010, and on Tuesday May 17 the Council of Ministers is set to approve the reform which includes allowing girls to seek a pregnancy termination from the age of 16 without parental permission, sick leave following an abortion or for painful periods and sex education from a younger age.
“There are still obstacles that hinder the effective and full exercise of all the sexual and reproductive rights recognised in the 2010 regulation itself,” the head of Equality, Irene Montero, stressed to the Congress, adding that while the new law will continue to include abortions until the 14th week of gestation, a series of new measures have been introduced:
Conscientious objection
The new abortion law will include a registry of medical professionals who conscientiously object to performing the procedure, as has been done with the euthanasia law; their right to refuse will be “scrupulously” respected, but this tool will ensure that all state-run facilities offer terminations.
“Voluntarily interrupting pregnancy will be guaranteed in all public hospitals. For this, it is essential that all centres with gynaecology and obstetrics services have professionals who guarantee the voluntary interruption of pregnancy,” the minister said.
There are currently 12 provinces that have not performed an abortion in the last five years, and the objective of this regulation is to ensure that women will not have to travel outside of their province to obtain a termination.
Free contraception and menstrual products
In addition to contemplating sick leave for women suffering from painful periods, the law will ensure that free pads and tampons are distributed in schools and that they are also made available for vulnerable women and female inmates.
Likewise, VAT will be eliminated for feminine hygiene products (it’s currently at 10%) and hormonal contraceptives and the morning after pill will be publically financed and distributed in schools across Spain as part of their sex education campaign, which will now be extended to younger children.
Image: Pixabay
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