JOHN CARLOS I

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following organic law.

PREAMBLE

I

The development of sexuality and the capacity for procreation are directly linked to the dignity of the person and to the free development of the personality and are the object of protection through different fundamental rights, pointing out, from those who guarantee physical and moral integrity and personal and family intimacy. The decision to have children and when to have children is one of the most intimate and personal issues that people face throughout their lives, which integrates an essential area of individual self-determination. Public authorities are obliged not to interfere in such decisions, but they must also lay down the conditions for them to be adopted in a free and responsible manner, by placing the needs of those who need health care services, advice or information.

The protection of this area of personal autonomy has a unique significance for women, for whom pregnancy and motherhood are facts that deeply affect their lives in every way. The special relationship of women's rights with the protection of sexual and reproductive health has been highlighted by various international texts. Thus, at the United Nations, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by the General Assembly by Resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979, provides in Article 12 that " States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, in conditions of equality between men and women, access to health care services, including those relating to family planning. " On the other hand, the Beijing Platform for Action agreed at the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women held in 1995 has acknowledged that " women's human rights include the right to have control and to decide freely and responsible for their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of pressure, discrimination and violence. " At the level of the European Union, the European Parliament has adopted Resolution 2001 /2128 (INI) on sexual and reproductive health and the associated rights, which contains a set of recommendations to the governments of the Member States in This is a very important issue. It is a matter of contraception, unwanted pregnancy and sexual affective education, which is based, among other considerations, on the fact that there are huge inequalities between European women in access to reproductive health services. Contraception and voluntary termination of pregnancy based on your income, your level of income or the country of residence.

For its part, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 13 December 2006, ratified by Spain, establishes the obligation of States Parties to respect " the right of persons with disabilities to freely and responsibly decide the number of children who want to have access to information, reproduction education and family planning appropriate for their age and provide the necessary means to enable them to exercise those rights "as well as" maintain their fertility, on an equal footing with the other ".

This Law aims to adapt our regulatory framework to the consensus of the international community in this field through the updating of public policies and the incorporation of new health care services. sexual and reproductive. The Law is part of the conviction, endorsed by the best scientific knowledge, that a suitable sexual and reproductive education, universal access to effective clinical practices of reproduction planning, through incorporation of last generation contraceptives, whose effectiveness has been endorsed by scientific evidence, in the portfolio of common services of the National Health System and the availability of sexual and reproductive health and programs is the way more effective prevention, especially in young people, transmission infections sexual, unwanted pregnancies and abortions.

The Law addresses the protection and guarantee of rights related to sexual and reproductive health in a comprehensive manner. It introduces in our order the definitions of the World Health Organization on health, sexual health and reproductive health and provides for the adoption of a set of actions and measures both in the field of health and education. It also establishes a new regulation of voluntary termination of pregnancy outside the Penal Code which, following the most widespread pattern in the countries of our political and cultural environment, seeks to guarantee and protect the rights properly. and interests in the presence, the woman and the prenatal life.

II

The first duty of the legislator is to adapt the law to the values of the society whose relations it has to regulate, always trying to ensure that the normative innovation generates certainty and safety in the people to whom it is destined, freedom only finds refuge on the ground floor of the clarity and precision of the Law. That's the spirit that inspires the new regulation of voluntary termination of pregnancy.

A quarter of a century ago, the legislator responded to the social problem of illegal abortions, which put the lives and health of women at serious risk and in the light of the majority social conscience that recognized the The importance of women's rights in relation to maternity has decriminalized certain cases of abortion. The reform of the Penal Code was a step forward in enabling women's access to a legal and safe abortion when one of the legally intended indications was present: serious danger to the life or physical and mental health of the pregnant woman, when the pregnancy is the result of a violation or when the existence of serious physical or mental taras in the foetus is presumed. Over the years, however, the application of the law has created uncertainties and practices that have affected legal certainty, with consequences both for the guarantee of women's rights and for effective protection of the The Commission has been able to make the most of the necessary measures to ensure that the safety of the health workers in the Member States is not the same as that of the Member States. termination of pregnancy.

The need to strengthen legal certainty in the regulation of voluntary termination of pregnancy has been emphasised by the European Court of Human Rights in its judgment of 20 March 2007 in which it is stated, by one side, that "in this kind of situations the legal forecasts must, first and foremost, ensure the clarity of the legal position of the pregnant woman" and, on the other hand, that " once the legislator decides to allow the abortion, it must not structure their legal framework in such a way as to limit the actual possibilities of obtaining it. "

In a free, pluralistic and open society, it is up to the legislator, within the framework of options that the Constitution leaves open, to develop fundamental rights according to the dominant values and the needs of every historic moment. The accumulated experience in the application of the current legal framework, the advancement of the social and legal recognition of the autonomy of women both in the public sphere and in their private life, as well as the prevailing normative trend in the countries of our environment, advocate a regulation of voluntary termination of pregnancy presided over by the clarity in which both the autonomy of women and the effective protection of prenatal life are adequately guaranteed legal. For its part, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in its Resolution 1607/2008 of 16 April, reaffirmed the right of every human being, and in particular of women, to the respect of their physical integrity and to the free disposition of their bodies and in that context, that the ultimate decision to appeal or not to an abortion corresponds to the woman concerned and, as a result, has invited the Member States to decriminalise abortion within reasonable gestation periods.

In the concretion of the legal model, the constitutional doctrine derived from the judgments of the Constitutional Court in this matter has been specially considered. Thus, in Case 53/1985, the Court, which was perfectly divided in important substantive matters, nevertheless stated some principles which have been supported by the subsequent case-law and which are taken as a starting point. One such statement of principle is the negation of the absolute character of the rights and interests that conflict in the course of regulating the voluntary termination of pregnancy and, consequently, the duty of the legislator to " weigh the goods and rights according to the alleged case, trying to harmonise them if this is possible or, if not, specifying the conditions and requirements in which the prevalence of one of them could be accepted " (STC 53/1985). For while "the unborn cannot be considered in our order as holders of the fundamental right to life guaranteed by Article 15 of the Constitution" this does not mean that they are deprived of all constitutional protection (STC 116/1999). Prenatal life is a legal asset worthy of protection that the legislator must make effective, without ignoring that the way in which such a guarantee is configured and instructed will always be mediated by the guarantee of the fundamental rights of the pregnant woman.

The weighting that the legislator has taken has taken into account the doctrine of the STC 53/1985 and attends to the qualitative changes of the life in formation that take place during the pregnancy, establishing, in this way, a concordance the practice of concurrent rights and goods through a model of gradual guardianship throughout the pregnancy.

This Law recognizes the right to freely decided maternity, which implies, among other things, that women can make the initial decision about their pregnancy and that this decision, conscious and responsible, is respected. The legislator has considered reasonable, according to the indications of the experts and the analysis of the comparative law, to leave a period of 14 weeks in which the women are guaranteed the possibility to make a free and informed decision on termination of pregnancy, without third-party interference, what the STC 53/1985 calls "conscious self-determination", since the decisive intervention of a third party in the formation of the will of the pregnant woman does not offer a greater guarantee for the fetus and, at the same time, unnecessarily limits the personality of the woman, value covered by Article 10.1 of the Constitution.

Experience has shown that the protection of prenatal life is more effective through active policies in support of pregnant women and maternity. Therefore, the protection of the legal good in the initial moment of gestation is articulated through the will of the woman, and not against her. The woman will take her decision after having been informed of all the benefits, aids and rights she can access if she wishes to continue with the pregnancy, the medical, psychological and social consequences arising from the continuation of the pregnancy or the interruption of the pregnancy, as well as the possibility of counselling before and after the intervention. The Law provides for a period of reflection of at least three days and, in addition to requiring the clarity and objectivity of the information, imposes conditions for this to be offered in an area and in a way that is free of pressure for women.

In the development of gestation, "it has-as the STC has affirmed 53/1985-a special transcendence the moment from which the nasciturus is already susceptible of independent life of the mother". The threshold of fetal viability is placed, in general consensus, endorsed by the scientific community and based on studies of the units of neonatology, around the twenty-second week of gestation. It is up to this moment when the Law allows for the interruption of pregnancy whenever there are any of these two indications: "that there is a serious risk to the life or the health of the pregnant woman", or "that there is a risk of serious abnormalities in the fetus". These cases of voluntary termination of the pregnancy of a medical nature are regulated with due guarantees in order to prove as safe as possible the concurrency of the indication. Unlike the current regulation, a certain time limit is established in the application of the so-called therapeutic indication, so that in the event of a risk to the life or health of the woman beyond the twenty-second week of The right to life and the physical integrity of women and the interest in the protection of life in training are fully harmonised.

Beyond the twenty-second week, the law sets up two exceptional cases of termination of pregnancy. The first refers to those cases in which "fetal anomalies are detected incompatible with life", in which the premise that makes prenatal life a protected legal good as a projection of article 15 of the Constitution (STC) 212/1996). The second assumption is limited to cases where "an extremely serious and incurable disease is detected in the fetus at the time of diagnosis and is confirmed by a clinical committee". Their verification has been deferred to the expert judgment of medical professionals conformed according to the scientific evidence of the moment.

The Law also establishes a set of guarantees regarding effective access to the health care of the voluntary termination of pregnancy and the protection of the privacy and confidentiality of women. The aim of these legal provisions is to solve the problems which the current regulatory framework has given rise to both territorial inequalities in access to the provision and infringement of privacy. Thus, the High Inspectorate is entrusted with ensuring effective equality in the exercise of rights and access to the benefits recognized in this Law.

The conscientious objection of healthcare professionals directly involved in the voluntary termination of pregnancy, which will be articulated in a future development of the Law, is also collected.

New wording has been given to Article 145 of the Criminal Code in order to limit the penalty imposed on women who consent to or practice an abortion outside of the cases permitted by law eliminating the provision of a custodial sentence. freedom, on the one hand, and, on the other, to clarify the imposition of penalties in their higher halves in certain cases. In addition, a new Article 145 bis is introduced to incorporate the corresponding penalty of the conduct of those who practice a termination of the pregnancy in the cases covered by the law, but without complying with the requirements laid down in the she.

Finally, Law 41/2002 of November 14, Basic Regulation of the Autonomy of the Patient has been modified in order that the provision of consent for the practice of a voluntary termination of pregnancy is subject to the general regime provided for in this Law and eliminate the exceptionality established in this case.

III

The Act is structured in a preliminary Title, two Titles, three additional provisions, one derogating provision and six final provisions.

The Preliminary Title sets out the object, definitions, inspiring principles of the law and proclaims the rights it guarantees.

The First Title, under the heading " Of sexual and reproductive health, is articulated in four chapters. Chapter I sets out the objectives of public policies in the field of sexual and reproductive health. Chapter II contains measures in the field of health and Chapter III deals with those relating to the field of education. The purpose of Chapter IV is to prepare the National Strategy for Sexual and Reproductive Health as an instrument of collaboration between the various public administrations for the proper development of public policies in matter.

In Title II, the conditions of voluntary termination of pregnancy and guarantees on access to the benefit are regulated.

The additional provision first mandates that the High Inspectorate verify the effective compliance with the rights and benefits recognized in this Law.

The additional second provision imposes on the Government the assessment of the economic cost of the services and benefits included in the Law as well as the adoption of measures provided for in Law 16/2003 of 28 May, of Cohesion and Quality of the National Health System.

Finally, the additional third provision refers to access to contraceptive methods and their inclusion in the common services portfolio of the National Health System.

The derogatory provision repeals Article 417 bis of the Criminal Code introduced in the Criminal Code of 1973 by the Organic Law 9/1985 of 5 July, and the validity of which was maintained by the Criminal Code of 1995.

The final provision first gives new wording to Article 145 of the Criminal Code and introduces a new Article 145 bis, and the second final provision amends the fourth paragraph of Article 9 of Law 41/2002 of November 14, basic regulation of the autonomy of the patient and of rights and obligations in the field of information and clinical documentation. Finally, the remaining final provisions refer to the organic nature of the law, the enabling of the Government for its regulatory development, the territorial scope of the Law and the entry into force that is fixed in four months. since its publication, in order to ensure that the necessary measures are taken for its full implementation.

PRELIMINARY TITLE

General provisions

Article 1. Object.

It constitutes the object of this Organic Law to guarantee fundamental rights in the field of sexual and reproductive health, to regulate the conditions of voluntary termination of pregnancy and to establish the corresponding obligations of the public authorities.

Article 2. Definitions.

For the purposes of this Law, the following definitions apply:

a) Health: the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not only the absence of disease or disease.

b) Sexual health: the state of physical, psychological and sociocultural well-being related to sexuality, which requires an environment free of coercion, discrimination and violence.

c) Reproductive health: the condition of physical, psychological and sociocultural well-being in the aspects related to the reproductive capacity of the person, which implies that a safe sex life can be had, the freedom to have children and decide when to have them.

Article 3. Principles and scope of application.

1. In the exercise of their rights of freedom, privacy and personal autonomy, all persons have the right to freely adopt decisions that affect their sexual and reproductive life without limits to those resulting from respect for the rights of the other persons and the public order guaranteed by the Constitution and the Laws.

2. The right to free maternity is recognised.

3. No one shall be discriminated against in the access to the benefits and services provided for in this Law for reasons of racial or ethnic origin, religion, conviction or opinion, sex, disability, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or any other condition or personal or social circumstances.

4. The public authorities, in accordance with their respective powers, shall carry out the benefits and other obligations laid down in this Law in respect of sexual and reproductive health.

Article 4. Guarantee of equality in access.

The State, in the exercise of its High Inspection powers, will ensure that equality in access to the benefits and services established by the National Health System that affect the scope of application is guaranteed. of this Law.

TITLE I

Of sexual and reproductive health

CHAPTER I

Public policies for sexual and reproductive health

Article 5. Objectives of the action of the public authorities.

1. Public authorities in the development of their health, education and social policies will ensure:

a) Information and sexual and reproductive affective education in the formal contents of the educational system.

b) Universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and programs.

c) Access to safe and effective methods to regulate fertility.

d) The elimination of all forms of discrimination, with special attention to persons with disabilities, who will be guaranteed their right to sexual and reproductive health, establishing for them the support necessary depending on your disability.

e) Comprehensive and gender-based health education on sexual health and reproductive health.

f) Health information about contraception and safe sex that prevent sexually transmitted diseases and infections, as well as unwanted pregnancies.

2. Also in the development of their policies they will promote:

(a) The relationships of equality and mutual respect between men and women in the field of sexual health and the adoption of educational programs specially designed for coexistence and respect for sexual choices individual.

b) Co-responsibility in sexual conduct, whatever the sexual orientation.

Article 6. Information and awareness-raising actions.

Public authorities will develop information and awareness actions on sexual health and reproductive health, especially through the media, and pay particular attention to the prevention of pregnancy. unwanted, through actions aimed primarily at youth and groups with special needs, as well as the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

CHAPTER II

Healthcare measures

Article 7. Attention to sexual and reproductive health.

Public health services will ensure:

a) The quality of comprehensive sexual health care services and the promotion of standards of care based on the best scientific knowledge available.

b) Universal access to effective clinical reproduction planning practices, through the incorporation of last generation contraceptives whose efficacy has been endorsed by scientific evidence, in the common services of the National Health System.

c) The provision of quality services to care for women and couples during pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium. In the provision of these services, the accessibility requirements of persons with disabilities shall be taken into account.

d) Perinatal care, focused on family and healthy development.

Article 8. Training of health professionals.

The training of health professionals will be addressed with a gender perspective and will include:

a) The incorporation of sexual and reproductive health in the curriculum programs of careers related to medicine and health sciences, including research and training in clinical practice of the voluntary termination of pregnancy.

b) The training of professionals in sexual health and reproductive health, including the practice of termination of pregnancy.

c) Sexual and reproductive health in continuing training programs throughout the performance of the professional career.

d) In the training aspects of health professionals, the reality and needs of the most vulnerable social groups or sectors, such as those with disabilities, will be taken into account.

CHAPTER III

Measures in the field of education

Article 9. Incorporation of sexual and reproductive health education into the education system.

The education system will provide for sexual and reproductive health education, as part of the integral development of personality and education in values, including a comprehensive approach that contributes to:

a) The promotion of a vision of sexuality in terms of equality and co-responsibility between men and women with special attention to the prevention of gender-based violence, sexual assault and abuse.

b) Recognition and acceptance of sexual diversity.

c) The harmonious development of sexuality according to the characteristics of young people.

d) Prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and infections and especially HIV prevention.

e) The prevention of unwanted pregnancies, in the context of responsible sexuality.

(f) In the incorporation of health and sexual and reproductive health training into the education system, the reality and needs of the most vulnerable groups or social sectors, such as those with disability, in any case, providing these students with information and materials that are accessible, appropriate to their age.

Article 10. Training activities.

The public authorities will support the educational community in carrying out training activities related to sexual affective education, the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies, facilitating adequate information for parents and mothers.

CHAPTER IV

Sexual and reproductive health strategy

Article 11. Elaboration of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy.

In order to fulfill the objectives set forth in this Law, the Government, in cooperation with the Autonomous Communities and with respect to its competence, will approve a Plan to be called a Sexual Health Strategy and Reproductive, which will have the collaboration of scientific and professional societies and social organizations.

The Strategy will be developed with quality and equity criteria in the National Health System and with emphasis on young people and adolescents and groups of special needs.

The Strategy will last for five years and will establish two-yearly evaluation mechanisms that will allow the assessment of results and in particular of universal access to sexual and reproductive health.

TITLE II

From voluntary termination of pregnancy

CHAPTER I

Conditions for voluntary termination of pregnancy

Article 12. Guarantee of access to voluntary termination of pregnancy.

Access to the voluntary termination of pregnancy is guaranteed under the conditions set out in this Law. These conditions shall be interpreted in the most favourable way for the protection and effectiveness of the fundamental rights of women who are seeking intervention, in particular their right to the free development of personality, to life, to integrity physical and moral, to privacy, to ideological freedom and non-discrimination.

Article 13. Common requirements.

Are required requirements for voluntary termination of pregnancy:

First. -To be practiced by a specialist doctor or under his or her direction.

Second. -That it be carried out in public or private health center accredited.

Third. -That it be carried out with the express and written consent of the pregnant woman or, where appropriate, of the legal representative, in accordance with the provisions of Law 41/2002, Basic Regulatory of the Autonomy of the Patient and Rights and Obligations in the field of information and clinical documentation.

It may be dispensed with the express consent in the case provided for in Article 9.2.b) of that Law.

Fourth. -In the case of women aged 16 and 17 years, consent for voluntary termination of pregnancy is exclusively for women in accordance with the general regime applicable to older women.

At least one of the legal representatives, father or mother, persons with parental authority or guardians of the women in those ages should be informed of the decision of the woman.

This information will be dispensed with when the minor claims that this will lead to a serious conflict, manifested in the danger of domestic violence, threats, coercion, ill-treatment, or a situation of uprooting or helplessness.

Article 14. Termination of pregnancy at the request of the woman.

Pregnancy may be discontinued within the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy at the request of the pregnant woman, provided that the following conditions are met:

(a) That the pregnant woman has been informed of the rights, benefits and public support for maternity support, in the terms set out in Article 17 (2) and (4) of this Law.

(b) A period of at least three days has elapsed, from the information referred to in the preceding paragraph and the performance of the intervention.

Article 15. Disruption to medical causes.

Exceptionally, pregnancy may be interrupted by medical causes when any of the following circumstances are present:

(a) No more than twenty-two weeks of gestation and provided that there is a serious risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman and that is the case in an opinion issued prior to the intervention by a physician or physician a specialist other than the practice or lead. In the event of an urgent risk of vital risk to the pregnant woman, the opinion may be dispensed with.

(b) No more than twenty-two weeks of gestation and whenever there is a risk of serious abnormalities in the foetus, and in the opinion of two specialist doctors other than the one who has previously been practice or direct.

(c) When fetal abnormalities are detected incompatible with life, and as stated in an opinion previously issued by a specialist physician or physician, other than the one who practices the intervention, or when a fetus is detected extremely serious and incurable disease at the time of diagnosis and is confirmed by a clinical committee.

Article 16. Clinical Committee.

1. The clinical committee referred to in the previous article will be composed of a multidisciplinary team composed of two doctors specialists in gynecology and obstetrics or experts in prenatal diagnosis and a pediatrician. The woman will be able to choose one of these specialists.

2. Confirmed the diagnosis by the committee, the woman will decide on the intervention.

3. In each Autonomous Community there shall be at least one clinical committee at a public health network. Members, holders and alternates, appointed by the competent health authorities, shall be appointed for a period of not less than one year. The designation shall be made public in the official journals of the respective Autonomous Communities.

4. The specificities of the functioning of the Clinical Committee shall be determined by regulation.

Article 17. Information prior to the consent of the voluntary termination of pregnancy.

1. All women who express their intention to undergo a voluntary termination of pregnancy will receive information on the various methods of termination of pregnancy, the conditions for the interruption provided for in this Law, the public and accredited to whom it can be directed and the procedures for accessing the benefit, as well as the conditions for its coverage by the relevant public health service.

2. In cases where women opt for termination of pregnancy as referred to in Article 14, they shall also receive a closed envelope containing the following information:

a) Public aids available to pregnant women and health coverage during pregnancy and childbirth.

b) Employment rights linked to pregnancy and maternity; benefits and public support for the care and care of children; tax benefits and other relevant information on incentives and support for children; birth.

c) Data on the centres available for appropriate information on contraception and safe sex.

d) Data on the centres in which the woman can voluntarily receive counselling before and after the termination of pregnancy.

This information should be provided in any public health facility or in the accredited centers for voluntary termination of pregnancy. Together with the information in the closed will be given to the woman a document proving the date of the delivery, for the purposes of the established article 14 of this Law.

The elaboration, content and format of this information will be determined by the Government.

3. In the event of termination of the pregnancy provided for in Article 15 (b) of this Law, the woman shall receive, in addition to the information provided for in the first paragraph of this Article, written information on the rights, benefits and aid existing public support for the autonomy of people with disabilities, as well as the network of social welfare organisations for these people.

4. In all cases, prior to the provision of the consent, the woman must be informed in the terms of Articles 4 and 10 of Law 41/2002 of 14 November, and specifically on the medical consequences, psychological and social of the pregnancy or the interruption of pregnancy.

5. The information provided for in this article will be clear, objective and understandable. In the case of persons with disabilities, it shall be provided in accessible formats and means, appropriate to their needs.

It will be communicated, in the submitted documentation, that such information may be offered, in addition, verbally, if the woman requests it.

CHAPTER II

Warranties on access to the benefit

Article 18. Guarantee of access to the benefit.

Public health services, within the scope of their respective competences, will apply the precise measures to ensure the right to the health provision of voluntary termination of pregnancy in cases and with the requirements set out in this Act. This benefit will be included in the common services portfolio of the National Health System.

Article 19. Measures to ensure the provision by health services.

1. In order to ensure equality and quality of care in the provision of voluntary termination of pregnancy, the competent health authorities shall ensure the basic contents which the Government determines, heard by the Council. Interterritorial Health. All women will be guaranteed equal access to the provision regardless of where they reside.

2. The health provision of voluntary termination of pregnancy shall be carried out in or linked to public health network centres.

Healthcare professionals directly involved in the voluntary termination of pregnancy will have the right to exercise conscientious objection without the access and quality of care of the benefit being undermined by the exercise of conscientious objection. The refusal or refusal to make the intervention of termination of pregnancy for reasons of conscience is an always individual decision of the health personnel directly involved in the realization of the voluntary interruption of the pregnancy, which must be manifest in advance and in writing. In any case, healthcare professionals shall provide appropriate treatment and medical care to women who need it before and after having undergone an intervention for termination of pregnancy.

If the public health service is exceptionally unable to provide the benefit in time, the health authorities shall recognise the pregnant woman's right to go to any accredited centre on the national territory, with the written commitment to directly assume the payment of the benefit.

3. The interventions referred to in Article 15 (c) of this Law shall be carried out preferably in qualified centres of the public health network.

Article 20. Protection of privacy and confidentiality.

1. Institutions that provide voluntary termination of pregnancy will ensure the privacy of women and the confidentiality of their personal data.

2. The service providers must have active and diligent custody systems for the patient's medical records and must implement the high level security measures provided for in the current regulations in the treatment of the data. of personal data protection.

Article 21. Data processing.

1. At the time of the request for information on the voluntary termination of pregnancy, the centres, without any data processing, shall inform the applicant that the data identifying the patients to whom they are The provision shall be subject to codification and separate from the clinical care data relating to the voluntary termination of pregnancy.

2. Centers that provide voluntary termination of pregnancy will establish appropriate mechanisms for the automation and coding of the patient identification data addressed in the terms provided for in this Law.

For the purposes set out in the preceding paragraph, the patient's name, surname, address, telephone number, e-mail address, national identity document or document shall be considered as identifying data for the patient. Equivalent identification, as well as any data revealing your physical or genetic identity.

3. At the time of the patient's first data collection, you will be assigned a code that will be used to identify it throughout the process.

4. The centers will replace the patient's identifying data with the assigned code in any information contained in the medical history that is related to the practice of the voluntary termination of the pregnancy, so that it cannot the access to such information is generally produced.

5. Information relating to the voluntary termination of pregnancy must be kept in the medical history in such a way that its mere display is not possible except for the staff involved in the practice of the provision, without injury to the accesses referred to in the following Article.

Article 22. Access and cession of personal data.

1. Access to the data in the medical history associated with those identifying the patient, without their consent, shall only be possible in the cases provided for in the legal provisions governing the rights and obligations of the patient. clinical documentation.

When access is requested by another healthcare professional in order to provide adequate healthcare for the patient, the patient will be limited to the data strictly and exclusively necessary for the proper care. record of the access realization.

In the other cases covered by the law, access shall be carried out by express authorization of the competent body in which the reasons justifying it shall be given in detail, in any case limited to the data strictly and exclusively necessary.

2. The discharge report, medical certifications and any other documentation relating to the practice of voluntary termination of the pregnancy which is necessary for any purpose, shall be exclusively provided to the patient or authorised person. for her. This documentation will respect the patient's right to privacy and confidentiality in the treatment of personal data collected in this Chapter.

3. The treatment of information by the health centre for advertising or commercial prospecting activities shall not be possible. The patient's consent to the processing of the data for these activities cannot be obtained.

Article 23. Data cancellation.

1. Institutions which have carried out a voluntary termination of pregnancy must automatically cancel all the patient's data after five years after the date of discharge. However, the clinical documentation may be kept when there are epidemiological, research or organizational reasons and the functioning of the National Health System, in which case all the data will be cancelled. identification of the patient and the code that would have been assigned to him as a result of the provisions of the previous articles.

2. The provisions of the foregoing paragraph shall be without prejudice to the exercise by the patient of their right of cancellation, in accordance with the terms of the Organic Law 15/1999 of 13 December on the Protection of Personal Data.

Additional disposition first. Of the functions of the High Inspection.

The State shall exercise the High Inspection as a function of guarantee and verification of the effective compliance with the rights and benefits recognized in this Law throughout the National Health System.

For the formulation of proposals for improvement in equity and accessibility of benefits and in order to verify the effective application of the rights and benefits recognized in this Law throughout the National Health System, the Government will produce an annual situation report, based on data presented by the Autonomous Communities to the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System.

Additional provision second. Cost assessment and adoption of measures.

The Government will assess the economic cost of the public services and services included in the Law by adopting, where appropriate, the necessary measures in accordance with the provisions of Law 16/2003 of 28 May, of Cohesion and Quality of the National Health System.

Additional provision third. Access to contraceptive methods.

The government, within one year, since the entry into force of the Law, will concretize the effectiveness of access to contraceptive methods. In this sense, it will guarantee the inclusion of last generation contraceptives whose efficacy has been endorsed by the scientific evidence, in the portfolio of common services of the National Health System under the same conditions as the Pharmaceutical services with public funding.

Single repeal provision. Repeal of Article 417 bis of the Criminal Code.

Article 417 bis of the recast of the Criminal Code, published by Decree 3096/1973 of 14 September, drawn up in accordance with Organic Law 9/1985 of 5 July, is hereby repealed.

Final disposition first. Amendment of the Organic Law 10/1995 of 23 November of the Penal Code.

One. -Article 145 of the Penal Code is worded as follows:

" Article 145.

1. The one who produces the abortion of a woman, with her consent, out of the cases permitted by the law will be punished with the prison sentence of one to three years and special disablement to exercise any health profession, or to lend services of any kind in clinics, establishments or gynecological offices, public or private, for one to six years. The judge may impose the penalty in its superior half when the acts described in this paragraph are carried out outside a public or private establishment or establishment.

2. A woman who has her abortion or consents to be caused by another person, outside of the cases permitted by law, will be punished with the penalty of a fine of six to twenty-four months.

3. In any event, the judge or tribunal shall impose the penalties respectively provided for in this article in its superior half when the conduct is carried out from the twenty-second week of gestation. "

Two. -A new article 145 bis of the Penal Code is added, which will have the following wording:

" Article 145 bis.

1. It shall be punishable by a fine of six to twelve months and a special disablement to provide services of any kind in clinical, public or private clinics, establishments or offices, for a period of six months to two years, which shall be of the cases covered by the law, practice an abortion:

(a) without having verified that the woman has received prior information regarding the rights, benefits and public support for maternity support;

(b) without having elapsed the waiting period referred to in the legislation;

c) without having the prior preceptive opinions;

d) outside an accredited public or private establishment or establishment. In this case, the judge will be able to impose the penalty on its top half.

2. In any event, the judge or tribunal shall impose the penalties provided for in this article in its superior half when the abortion has been carried out from the twenty-second week of gestation.

3. The pregnant woman will not be penalized in accordance with this precept. "

Three. -Subparagraph "417 bis" of point (a) of the first paragraph of the single derogation provision is deleted.

Final disposition second. Amendment of Law 41/2002 of 14 November, Basic Regulation of the Autonomy of the Patient and of Rights and Obligations in the field of information and clinical documentation.

Article 9 (4) of Law 41/2002, of 14 November, Basic Regulation of the Autonomy of the Patient and of Rights and Obligations in the field of information and clinical documentation, will have the following wording:

" 4. The practice of clinical trials and assisted human reproduction techniques is governed by the general provisions on the majority of age and by the special provisions of application. "

Final disposition third. Organic character.

This Organic Law is issued under Article 81 of the Constitution.

The precepts contained in the Preliminary Title, Title I, Chapter II of Title II, the additional provisions and the second, fourth, fifth and sixth final provisions are not organic.

Final disposition fourth. Enabling regulatory development.

The Government shall adopt the regulatory provisions necessary for the implementation and development of this Law.

As long as the regulatory development concerned does not enter into force, the current regulatory provisions on the subject that do not object to the provisions of this Law remain in force.

Final disposition fifth. Territorial scope of application of the Law.

Without prejudice to the corresponding autonomic powers, the framework of application of this Law shall be in the entire territory of the State.

It shall be for the competent health authorities to ensure the provision contained in or linked to the public health network in the Autonomous Community of residence of the pregnant woman, provided that she so requests. the pregnant woman.

Final disposition sixth. Entry into force.

The Act shall enter into force within four months of the day following that of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this organic law.

Madrid, 3 March 2010.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO