Giving Compass' Take:
- New Zealand just passed a bill allowing for three days of paid leave by law for couples who've experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth.
- How can this policy help advance gender equity in the workplace? What other policies can potentially change to improve maternal healthcare and paid family leave?
- Learn about the plight to improve workers' benefits in family and medical leave in the U.S.
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Couples who suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth in New Zealand will be eligible to receive three days of paid leave by law in the coming weeks, according to the New York Times.
New Zealand’s parliament unanimously voted on the measure on Wednesday after the law had been in development for several years.
"The grief that comes with miscarriage is not a sickness; it is a loss, and that loss takes time — time to recover physically and time to recover mentally," Labour Member of Parliament Ginny Andersen, who sponsored the decision, said during a final reading of the bill.
New Zealand is only the second known country in the world to mandate such a law, according to Andersen.
Andersen credits writer Kathryn Van Beek, who approached the MP after she experienced a miscarriage, for inspiring the legislation.
Previous regulations required employers in New Zealand to provide paid leave only for stillbirths, which occur when a couple loses a fetus after 20 weeks or more. Couples who experienced miscarriages or stillbirths before that window had to ask for sick leave.
While some companies already have a bereavement leave policy in place for miscarriages and stillbirths, the new law allows anyone who loses a pregnancy at any stage to qualify without having to show proof. Couples who are grieving miscarriages or stillbirths through surrogacy or adoption are also included in the bill.
Although Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern decriminalized abortion in 2020, the procedure is not covered under the new legislation, raising concerns from other lawmakers.
Supporters of the new legislation hope it provides financial stability for grieving couples and makes room for more open conversations about miscarriages and stillbirths.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Health estimates that one to two out of every 10 pregnancies end in miscarriage in the country, with an estimated 5,900 to 11,800 miscarriages or stillbirths reported annually — but it remains a taboo subject, according to Andersen.
Read the full article about miscarriage and stillbirth by Leah Rodriguez at Global Citizen.