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May 13, 2022

Andrew Campbell 

The Spanish Ministry of Equality has been fighting for nearly a year to change Spain's abortion law, which has been adopted since 2010, and the Council of Ministers is about to endorse the reform on May 17th, including allowing girls as young as 16 to seek abortions without parental consent, sick leave following an abortion or for painful periods, and sex education beginning at a younger age.

As of now, 12 provinces have not conducted an abortion in the last five years, and the goal of this regulation is to ensure that women do not have to make the journey outside of their province to get an abortion.

Similarly, VAT on feminine hygiene products (presently 10%) and hormonal contraceptives will be eliminated, and the birth control pill will be publicly funded and sent to schools across Spain as one of the sex educations, which will be extended to younger children.

Under new proposed legislation set to be unveiled next week, Spain could be the first Western country that allows women to take several days of "menstrual leave" from work each month. Menstrual leave is currently available in only a few countries around the world, including Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, and Zambia.