The Spanish government has approved a draft law that would remove the requirement that 16- and 17-year-old girls have parental consent before terminating a pregnancy.
The new law on sexual and reproductive health aims to reform the previous law on abortion that was adopted in 2015, when the conservative People's Party was in power.
If the law is adopted, Spain will become the first country in Europe to offer paid menstrual leave to female workers.
Isabel Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Spanish government, said the law represented "a new step forward for democracy."
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In Spain, voluntary abortion is allowed up to the 14th week of pregnancy.
However, doctors in traditionally Catholic Spain will still be able to register as conscientious objectors, El Pais reports.
Irene Montero, the minister for equality, said government institutions must "reject taboos, stigmas and guilt about women's bodies".
The goal of the Act on Sexual and Reproductive Health is to provide employees with three days of sick leave for painful periods, according to the draft.
That period can be extended to five days for particularly intense pain that prevents work.
The Spanish government states that the national social security system, not employers, will pay for this sick leave.
Abortions for XNUMX- and XNUMX-year-old girls and leave due to severe menstrual pain are components of the new law.
Spain has also announced that it will introduce stricter restrictions on surrogacy, which is already banned in the country.
These restrictions also include the ban on advertising surrogacy agencies.
The draft of the new law states that surrogacy is a form of violence against women and categorizes any type of forced pregnancy, abortion, sterilization or contraception in the same way.
One of the goals of the proposed new act is to encourage the development of hormonal contraception for men, emphasizing that contraception is not only the responsibility of women.
Spain's left-wing coalition government came to power almost four years ago, and improving women's rights was listed as one of its main goals.
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