Some in France have raised the idea, Spain will do it: institute menstrual leave to allow women suffering from painful periods to stop working for a few days each month. The government of socialist Pedro Sanchez, in coalition with the radical left of Unidas Podemos, adopted a draft law to this effect on Tuesday May 17.
While some Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea or Indonesia have had such a device for a long time, as well as Zambia in Africa, the Spanish kingdom confirms that it is at the forefront in Europe on many social issues, despite the moral weight of the Church: marriage for all has been authorized since 2005 and last year it aligned paternity leave with maternity leave (16 weeks) and, above all, authorized the euthanasia.
“We are not talking about slight discomfort”
Spain could now be the first country in the Old Continent to enshrine this “fundamental” right in law, in the words of the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero. “It’s the end of a taboo”, explained this one. The idea of menstrual leave had been defended by Valérie Pécresse and Jean-Luc Mélenchon during the French presidential campaign, and before that, by Sandrine Rousseau, an unsuccessful candidate for the environmental primary.
In Spain, it will be up to the family doctor to determine the number of days of incapacity for the patient. Social security will cover the salary of the person concerned over the period considered, as for an ordinary sick leave. “We are not talking about mild discomfort but about serious symptoms, such as diarrhea, severe headaches and fever,” said Angela Rodriquez, secretary of state in charge of the fight against gender violence.
Despite the feminist display of the Chief Executive (aged 50) since coming to power in June 2018, despite also the presence of a majority of women in government (14 out of 22 ministers, a world record) , the adoption of the text was not self-evident. Some socialist caciques, like the right and the extreme right (up in the polls), see in fact in the future menstrual leave a risk of new discrimination in hiring, to the detriment of women.
Oddly, and to the great disappointment of associations of women with this disease, the text does not mention endometriosis, a chronic gynecological disease of women of childbearing age, which is characterized by the development of a uterine lining outside the uterus. In France, Emmanuel Macron made it a national cause last January.
The Spanish draft law also includes several advances with regard to abortion. In the future, the public health system will have to practice voluntary terminations of pregnancy in the same proportions as private clinics, which currently carry out 84% of abortions in the peninsula. To remedy this imbalance, the many doctors in the public who are conscientious objectors will be harshly sanctioned.
In addition, the government reinstated the end of parental consent for girls aged 16 to 18 wanting an abortion, introduced by the left in 2010 and reversed four years later by the right. A way of bringing the law into line with the raising, in 2015, of the minimum age of sexual consent from 13 to 16 years old.
Conversely, while Spain has been one of the most permissive European countries in terms of medically assisted procreation (PMA) since 1988, it is preparing to toughen the ban on surrogacy (GPA), considering prosecuting Spanish couples who resort to this practice abroad. Progressivism has limits.