Madrid, March 2. Minors aged 16 and over can terminate their pregnancy from this Thursday in Spain without the need for parental authorization and change sex without the obligation of medical or psychological reports.
The new laws on abortion and on gender self-determination which come into force today are one of the commitments of the left-wing government coalition in the country in its policy of progress in social rights.
Until now, parental consent was required for minors under the age of 16 and 17 – since the legal age of majority is 18 in Spain – to terminate the pregnancy, after fourteen weeks of gestation.
Another novelty, the three-day reflection period before abortion and the obligation to inform the woman of maternity benefits if she decides to continue the pregnancy are abolished.
In addition, for the first time, the right to sick leave due to painful and disabling menstruation is recognized, making Spain a pioneer in this field in Europe.
And reproductive rights are extended to “trans people with gestational capacity”, that is to say, who have changed sex to become male but retain the female reproductive system.
The law also includes measures to prevent surrogacy, which is illegal in Spain, such as a ban on advertising by intermediation agencies, and considers forced sterilization and contraception, forced abortion and surrogate pregnancy as violence.
In Spain, just over 90,000 abortions are performed each year, the vast majority in private centres, so the law also provides for measures to ensure that public centers are benchmarks for abortion.
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The so-called trans law establishes as the only requirement to change sex in civil status the will of the person from the age of 16, without the need for hormones or psychological and medical evaluations.
Between 16 and 14 years old, minors can change sex in the register if they come accompanied by their parents or guardians and from 12 to 14 years old with judicial authorization.
Minors under the age of 12 will not be able to change gender, but their name may be changed on official documents.
Genital modification in minors will only be allowed when doctors determine it and if they are deemed mature enough to make this decision.
Countries such as Sweden have questioned similar rules in the face of the increase in this practice and warnings about its irreversibility by people who, as adults, regret it.
Likewise, if a man changes his sex, he will not avoid convictions for gender-based violence, since in Spain the criminal responsibilities he had before the change will prevail.
In other European countries, such as the UK, controversies have erupted over cases of men who changed their gender and went to women’s prisons despite having been convicted of gender-based violence.
Both laws were approved last month in the Spanish parliament, with the right-wing opposition rejected, and applauded by sectors such as LGTBI+ activism, although feminist groups criticize that anyone can become a woman simply by going to a register. EFE
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