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Spanish lawmakers have given final approval to a law to grant paid medical leave to women suffering from severe menstrual pain.

Thus, Spain becomes the first European country to adopt such a thing.

The law, passed by 185 votes to 154, aims to lift the taboo on the subject, the government said.

Currently, menstrual leave is only available in a small number of countries around the world, including Japan, Indonesia and Zambia.

The legislation gives workers who experience period pain the right to take as much leave as they need, with the state's social security system - not employers - picking up the bill for sick leave.

As with paid leave for other health reasons, temporary incapacity must be approved by a doctor.

The length of leave that doctors will be able to provide to women suffering from painful menstruation is not specified in the law.

According to the Spanish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics, about a third of menstruating women suffer from severe pain.

The measure has sparked controversy among politicians and unions alike, with the UGT, one of Spain's largest unions, warning that it could stigmatize women in the workplace and favor the hiring of men.

The main opposition conservative People's Party (NP) also warned that the law risks "stigmatizing" women and could have "negative labor market consequences" for them.

"This is a historic day for the advancement of feminism," Equality Minister Irene Montero said on Twitter before the vote.

Hoy es un día histórico de avance en derechos feministas: la nueva Ley del Aborto y la Ley Trans y de derechos LGTBI van a ser ley pic.twitter.com/tcW0kGheTT

— Irene Montero (@IreneMontero) February 16, 2023

Period leave is one of the key measures in the wider legislation, which also provides for greater access to abortions in public hospitals.

Less than 15% of abortions performed in the country are performed in such institutions, mainly due to conscientious objection by doctors.

The new law also allows minors to have abortions without parental permission at ages 16 and 17, reversing a requirement introduced by the previous conservative government in 2015. Spain, a European leader in women's rights, has

decriminalized abortion in 1985, and in 2010 passed a law that in most cases allows women to freely choose an abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.  

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