Spain’s health minister has extended the country’s free fertility treatments to single women, lesbian and bisexual women, and transgender people who can become pregnant.
Six years ago, the ruling conservative Popular Party restricted free fertility treatment under the country’s public health system to straight, cisgender women with partners. The Associated Press notes, however, that “Many of Spain’s regional governments refused to enforce that policy.”
Health Minister Carolina Darias signed an order Friday explicitly restoring access to fertility treatment to single women, lesbian and bisexual women, and transgender people who can get pregnant (“personas trans con capacidad de gestar,” as she said in a tweet). “We have restored rights that should never have been abolished,” she asserted. (“Hemos restituido derechos que nunca tenÃan que haberse suprimido.”)
It appears that trans women and gay men are not included in this specific order, which seems focused on anyone who can become pregnant (and who were restricted by the previous legislation); it’s unclear to me if they would be covered under other legislation that deals with fertility treatment related to sperm counts and such. (If you know how Spain handles this, please leave a comment.)
Uge Sangil, president of Spain’s Federación Estatal LGTBI+, the country’s largest LGBTI+ organization, said in a tweet that “Let no one doubt: expanding reproductive rights is expanding human rights.” (“Que a nadie le quepa ninguna duda: ampliar derechos reproductivos es ampliar #DDHH.“)
¡Felicidades! to everyone in Spain who will benefit from this restoration of rights.