The Parliament of Spain, a European country of Catholic Christians, has passed some such bold laws on February 16, which have angered the Christian Church, which are revolutionary in themselves. With these laws, the life of women will be made easier and all people will get the unique right to change gender at will.
Menstrual leave, the legal right to abortion and the option to freely choose one’s sexuality: these legislative plans have sparked heated debate in Spain. There was strong opposition to them, but the government got necessary support in the Parliament. Working women can get leave on the days of menstrual pain. The right to abortion has been expanded and anyone who wants to change their sex can do so after the age of 16 without being asked.
The unique law for ‘menstrual leave’ saw 185 votes in favor and 154 votes against when the parliament voted. 3 MPs did not vote. This law states that working women who are having severe pain during menstruation can stay at home. Gender equality minister Irene Maria Monteiro called it a “historic day for feminist progress” on Twitter. She is a leader of the left-wing ‘Podemos’ party in Spain’s ruling coalition.
The aim is to break taboos: The Spanish Socialist Party, the main party of the ruling coalition, is also a leftist party. Its leader and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is also a supporter of these new laws. According to the Spanish government, the purpose of these new laws is to break certain taboos. The new abortion law guarantees abortions in public health centers.
Abortion can be done after the age of 16, even without parental consent. The rule so far has been removed that at least three days of ‘deep thinking’ should be done before abortion. The contraceptive pill is guaranteed to be available free of cost even after an abortion. At the time of voting in Parliament, 185 votes were cast in favor of this law and 154 were against. All MPs took part in the voting.
Adolescent sex change rights: The third new law allows children and young people over the age of 12 to officially change their gender identity, i.e. from girl to boy or from boy to girl by surgery, but they must be accompanied by their parents. Father’s and a judge’s permission has to be obtained. On attaining the age of 14 only the permission of the parents will be sufficient. After turning 16, no one’s permission will have to be taken. Everyone will be able to decide for themselves. Then they will not be able to blame anyone else for the result of a wrong decision.
Anyone who wants to change their gender on their identity cards (identity cards etc.) will now only need a simple official declaration, no medical proof needed. All these innovations have been hotly debated in Spain for months. The conservative opposition and the Catholic Church have been the most vocal critics of these changes. Debate also raged within Spain’s ruling left-wing coalition.
According to Gender Equality Minister Irene Maria Monteiro, the new law “immunises” transgender people. He says that today we have taken a big step towards independent choice of gender identity. Denmark was the first country in Europe to offer its citizens the legal option to change their gender identity through sex reassignment in 2014.
