The PSOE and United We Can negotiate in their coalition agreement to modify the law of voluntary interruption of pregnancy to allow 16 and 17 year old girls can abort without the need for parental consent, but finally the Government will undertake an ambitious reform of the norm that will range from the regulation of conscience of doctors to the temporary incapacity for painful rules, the end of the three days of reflection before an abortion or poverty menstrual.
The main objective of the draft is guarantee the right to abortion to all women, as anticipated by the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, when speaking of the project in parliament. “Access to these rights cannot depend on the money that each woman has in her checking account, on the city or town where she lives, on the color of her skin, on her sexual orientation, on whether or not she has any kind of disability or whether or not you have papers. There must be public services and institutions that guarantee all sexual and reproductive rights and for all women”, she defended before the Equality Commission.
The members of the Executive finalize the final details of the draft, which will be approved next Tuesday in the Council of Ministers. The main measures of the draft bill on sexual and reproductive health and the voluntary interruption of pregnancy are the following:
Interruption of pregnancy
–Under 16 and 17 years old: the reform will annul the modification introduced by the PP in the abortion law to demand the requirement of parental consent when girls of 16 and 17 years old want to abort. Minors under 16 and 17 years of age can work and give their medical consent for any type of medical intervention, except for the interruption of pregnancy.
-Guaranteed access to nearby public health centers: lPublic health centers will be obliged to practice voluntary interruptions of pregnancy (IVE) in all territories, so that women do not have to move from province to province or even from autonomous community, as has been happening.
-Regulation of conscientious objection: lThe rule will recognize the individual right to conscientious objection, but will regulate it in a similar way to the euthanasia law, establishing individual records of objectors to guarantee that the different medical units have the necessary health personnel to guarantee the practice.
-End of envelopes and reflection days: The autonomy of women who decide to terminate their pregnancy will be recognized and, to this end, the three days of reflection and the delivery of envelopes as requirements for termination will be eliminated. In addition, each woman will choose the method she prefers for the IVE and the health centers will distribute the morning-after pill free of charge.
-Low due to interruption of pregnancy: women who abort may access temporary disability.
Mental health
-Temporary disability due to painful periods: The law will establish a special temporary disability due to painful and incapacitating rules that will be paid for by the National Institute of Social Security from the first day and that will not require a minimum contribution. Nor does it establish a specific duration, these leaves will be extended to what each woman needs.
We are going to recognize by law the right of women with painful periods to a special temporary disability that will be paid for by the State from the first day.
– Irene Montero (@IreneMontero) May 13, 2022
-Menstrual hygiene products: Educational, women’s, civic and prison centers will distribute tampons and pads for free, as a measure to alleviate menstrual poverty.
Sex education
-Contraception: Social Security will once again cover state-of-the-art contraceptive pills in its catalog. Research into male contraceptive methods will also be promoted.
-Affective-sexual education: It will be part of the entire educational curriculum. In addition, teachers and officials from prisons and other institutions will be trained in sexual education and menstrual health.
-Telephone service: Public centers for specialized attention in sexual and reproductive health will be created and a telephone line will be set up with the same objective.
violence
-Forced abortions: The reform will punish forced abortions, sterilizations, pregnancies and sterilizations as forms of violence against women.
Related news
–Rental bellies: It will also include surrogacy as a form of violence against women, with specific measures against intermediary agencies that allow this practice, prohibited in Spain, to be managed abroad.
-Obstetric violence: Equality wants bad medical practices in pregnancy and childbirth to be recognized as violence, but this issue is still being negotiated in the Government.