Spain has passed two groundbreaking laws expanding reproductive and transgender rights for teenagers and making it the first country in Europe to offer paid menstrual leave. The legislation was approved on Thursday by the Spanish parliament and was introduced by the country’s Equality Minister, Irene Montero, from the junior member of the coalition government, the “United We Can” Party. The laws allow 16- and 17-year-olds to undergo an abortion without parental consent, provide free menstrual products in schools and prisons, and require state-run health centers to offer free hormonal contraceptives and the morning-after pill. The laws also entitle workers to paid time off for period-related health problems.
The laws enshrine in law the right to have an abortion in a state hospital, as currently over 80% of termination procedures in Spain are carried out in private clinics because many public doctors refuse to perform them, citing religious reasons. Under the new system, state hospital doctors can decline to perform abortions as long as they have registered their objections in writing. The measures represent a significant expansion of reproductive rights in Spain, which passed landmark legislation in 2010.
The Spanish parliament also passed a separate set of reforms strengthening transgender rights, including allowing any citizen over 16 to change their legally registered gender without medical supervision. The changes eliminate the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, with minors between the ages of 12 and 13 requiring a judge’s authorization to change their gender, and those between 14 and 16 needing to be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians. The new law also bans “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ people and provides state support for lesbians and single women seeking IVF treatment.
The Spanish coalition government is currently embroiled in another controversy over a new sexual consent law intended to increase protection against rape but has resulted in reduced prison sentences for hundreds of sex offenders. The “Only Yes Means Yes” law makes verbal consent the key component in cases of alleged sexual assault. The government is attempting to revise the law ahead of elections later this year, while right-wing parties opposing the new laws remain a significant obstacle to their implementation.
