New rules on abortion, menstruation and reproductive rights

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. Women aged 16 and 17 will be able to voluntarily end their pregnancy without the consent of their parents or legal guardians, reversing the 2015 reform.
2. The three-day waiting period and the mandatory information about maternity benefits are eliminated. That information will only be given if the woman asks for it.
3. Health administrations must guarantee voluntary termination of pregnancy in public health network centers or centers linked to them, with equality and territorial equity. If they cannot provide it in time, the woman may go to an accredited center and the authorities will pay.
4. Conscientious objection is regulated as an individual decision of health professionals, who must state it in writing and in advance. Registries of objectors will be created in each autonomous community and at INGESA.
5. Special temporary disability situations (sick leave) are recognized for secondary incapacitating menstruation, for termination of pregnancy, whether voluntary or not, and for pregnancy from the first day of the thirty-ninth week. This also applies to civil servants, military personnel, court staff and maritime workers.
6. Hormonal and emergency contraceptives will be free at National Health System centers, and free access to menstrual products will be guaranteed in schools, social services centers and prisons.
7. Affective-sexual education will be part of the curriculum throughout compulsory education, and awareness campaigns will be promoted to prevent sexually transmitted infections and reproductive violence.
8. Advertising by agencies that promote surrogacy is banned, since surrogacy contracts are already void in Spain, and the Criminal Code no longer punishes performing an abortion without prior information about benefits or without the waiting period.

Who it affects

• Women and girls aged 16 or older who want to end a pregnancy, because the requirements and access guarantees change.: They no longer need their legal guardians' consent or a waiting period.
• Workers with incapacitating menstruation caused by conditions such as endometriosis, because a special temporary disability leave is recognized.: They can take sick leave from day one, with the subsidy paid by Social Security.
• Health professionals directly involved in pregnancy terminations, because their right to conscientious objection and the objector registries are regulated.: They must declare their objection in writing and in advance, and patient care cannot be affected.
• Pregnant women from the thirty-ninth week of gestation, because a special temporary disability situation is recognized.: They can take leave from the first day of that week until delivery.
• Students in compulsory education, because affective-sexual education becomes part of the curriculum.: They will receive sexual and reproductive health education from properly trained staff.

Words worth knowing

Incapacidad temporal

Temporary disability: a situation in which a worker is on sick leave due to illness or accident and cannot work, receiving a subsidy.

Objeción de conciencia

Conscientious objection: the right of a health professional to refuse to perform a specific procedure, such as an abortion, for personal or moral reasons.

Gestación por sustitución

Surrogacy: an agreement by which a woman agrees to become pregnant and give up the baby to another person. It is void in Spain and its advertising is now banned.

Dismenorrea secundaria

Secondary dysmenorrhea: very painful periods caused by a previously diagnosed condition, such as endometriosis.

Alta Inspección

High Inspection: a State function that monitors whether all autonomous communities comply and guarantee equal access to health benefits.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries