The New Zealand Parliament approved legislation on Wednesday providing couples suffering after a miscarriage or stillbirth with three days of paid leave.
“This bill makes it clear that the unplanned end of a pregnancy by miscarriage or still-birth constitutes grounds for bereavement leave for the mother and her partner or spouse,” according to the bill’s description, noting that the measure achieved approval in the country’s Parliament.
Parliament members reportedly voted unanimously to approve the measure. The bill may be among the first in the world to invoke workplace-paid relief for couples suffering following a miscarriage or stillbirth.
Ginny Andersen, the Labour Party member of Parliament who drafted the bill, said she could not find comparable legislation anywhere else in the world.
NEW ZEALAND CITY GOES ON LOCKDOWN FOLLOWING DISCOVERY OF THREE COVID CASES
Employers in New Zealand already had some requirements to offer paid leave in the event of a stillbirth, when a fetus dies after 20 weeks or more.
Now, the measure removes any ambiguity and applies to anyone who loses a pregnancy at any point. The law will reportedly not apply to abortions, which were decriminalized in the country last year.
The measure is slated to become law within the coming weeks.
“I felt that it would give women the confidence to be able to request that leave if it was required, as opposed to just being stoic and getting on with life, when they knew that they needed time, physically or psychologically, to get over the grief,” Andersen told the New York Times.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Washington Examiner reached out to Andersen but did not immediately receive a response.
