“It happened on Monday afternoon, I was at work on Tuesday morning,” recalls Sandra Lorenzo, author of the book. An abortion like any other (First Editions). The young woman, whose pregnancy ends suddenly, does not have time to realize what is happening to her.
Like her, many women who experience a spontaneous termination of pregnancy, more commonly known as miscarriage, do not stop working. However, this phenomenon, which affects one in ten women according to a study published in the journal the lancet in 2021, it can have serious physical and psychological consequences. “Specifically, a woman who suffers a miscarriage does not recover, in most cases, in three days,” she summarizes.
However, sometimes it is the loss of salary that deters women from giving up. As for a classic sick leave, they must indeed wait a few days to be compensated. A situation that the law of July 7, 2023 aims to put an end to. To this end, the text establishes the suppression of waiting days for women victims of spontaneous abortion. Therefore, the latter will be able to receive daily social security benefits from the first day of their unemployment. “This measure should apply to professionals in the public and private sectors and to self-employed and non-salaried agricultural professionals,” the government says on its website. servicepublic.fr. It will enter into force at the beginning of 2024.
“A huge injustice” repaired
In addition to repairing what was “an enormous injustice,” according to Sandra Lorenzo, the law has an undeniable symbolic meaning.
But, according to the co-founder of the collective Miscarriage, true lived “.we still have to go further”, beginning with the systematization of sick leave. She believes that this is what would have helped her, on a personal level, to take stock of what was happening to her. , I didn’t feel the need for them to stop me”. She also specifies that a systematic layoff would in no way be mandatory for women who wish to continue working. However, Sandrine Josso points out a “risk of stigmatization” of such systematization, which could , in particular, compel women to disclose their pregnancy plans to their employer.
Spouses also supported
The text also provides for psychological support piloted by the Regional Health Agencies (ARS) for women who have suffered a spontaneous abortion. A device that spouses or spouses can also benefit from. An advance that Sandra Lorenzo welcomes with satisfaction: “it does not concern only the woman who lives it in her womb but it concerns a couple”. “The couple needs to be able to access psychological help,” she adds.
However, the removal of the waiting period for sick leave only affects women who have suffered a miscarriage, and not their spouse. On this point, Sandrine Josso indicates that “nothing is closed”. In fact, the deputy would see in this extension of this measure to the co-father “a possible additional advance”.
Finally, the law fills an existing legal vacuum in the labor code by integrating protection against dismissal for women affected by a spontaneous abortion. “No employer may terminate the employment contract of an employee during the ten weeks following a medically certified spontaneous interruption of pregnancy that took place between the fourteenth and twenty-first week of amenorrhea inclusive,” the text of the law indicates. . Until now, only pregnancy interruptions that occurred after the 22nd gave rise to such a protection measure.
Source: BFM TV
