New Zealand: government introduces parental bereavement leave after miscarriage

On 24 March New Zealand’s parliament unanimously adopted a new right giving mothers who suffer a miscarriage along with their partners partners, to 3-days of paid bereavement leave. This new right will be effective in a few weeks, following royal assent. Ginny Andersen, Labour MP, who initiated the taboo-breaking legislation stated, “Their grief is not a sickness, it is a loss. And loss takes time.” New Zealand law specifies that going forward all miscarriages will be come under scope, irrespective of their date and up to 20 weeks gestation, with any losses after that week continuing to come under existing stillbirth parental leave conditions. Parents via surrogacy will also be eligible for the leave period. Abortions however will not be covered. Under its leadership by the progressive and feminist Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand now becomes the second nation globally to support victims of miscarriage. While India already offers 6 weeks of leave to women suffering from miscarriage the right is rarely taken up as they often work in informal employment. Labour MP Anderson continued, “I can only hope that while we may be one of the first, we will not be one of the last, and that other countries will also begin to legislate for a compassionate and fair leave system.”