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ARCHIVED - Spain approves law to allow girls under 16 have an abortion without parental consent
Several key changes have been made to the abortion law in Spain
The Congress of Deputies in Spain reinstated an old law on Thursday December 15 that will allow minors under the ages of 16 and 17 to seek a pregnancy termination without parental consent. Parental consent was actually abolished back in 2010 when José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was in power, but it was restored by a more conservative government in 2015.
While the legislation still has to receive the approval of the Senate, Minister of Equality Irene Montero nevertheless hailed the approval as a "very important step to guarantee sexual and reproductive rights in our country."
Even though these minors technically won’t need the support of their parents to get an abortion, the government still foresees some conflict, and so plans to create the position of ‘judicial defender’ to protect the interest of people under 16 who wish to terminate their pregnancies.
In addition to the main amendment, the new law will eliminate the three days of reflection currently required of women seeking a termination and doctors will no longer be permitted to provide women who want to end the pregnancy with information on maternity benefits, which many believe to be coercive, unless they ask for it.
To protect the rights of the medical profession, a registry of conscientious objector health workers will also be established, similar to the one that is in place for the euthanasia law.
Health centres and reproductive health services will distribute the morning-after pill free of charge and to combat ‘menstrual poverty’ free feminine hygiene products will be handed out in institutes, prisons, women's centres and civic centres.
Finally, the reformed abortion law will allow paid, temporary pre-delivery leave from the 39th week of pregnancy in the case of illness, and women will also be permitted to take menstrual leave from work for painful periods.
One major issue that hasn’t changed is that under the law, surrogacy is still considered an act of “violence” against women and the advertising of such services is still strictly banned in Spain. Incredibly, the Ministry wanted to prosecute the parents of children born by surrogate motherhood, but this was vetoed by the Ministry of Justice.
Image: @IreneMontero / Twitter
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