After New Zealand, Portland authorises leave for miscarriages, abortions

The city of Portland in Oregon, USA has become the second city in the United States Of America to allow employees to take paid leave in cases of pregnancy issues such as miscarriage or abortion. The changes to city bereavement policies were made in light of New Zealand's Parliament approved a legislation that will provide three days of paid leave after a miscarriage or stillbirth, without needing to use sick leave.

Under the new policy, mothers can take paid leave off work in cases of miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, stillbirth and even loss of pregnancy due to fertility treatments. Employees may apply for leave without having to specify how the loss occurred and the policy does not discriminate between cases where medical termination was necessary and those where it was not.

Until it was recently amended, the policy allowed for paid leave only in situations where they were related to the deceased either biologically or through marriage. Pittsburgh was the first city to introduce a similar bereavement policy expansion for its workers in August, citing a need to be compassionate towards the loss faced during pregnancy or childbirth. Washington DC was also forced to change its bereavement policies after a mother who lost her child in labour and was injured in the process was denied paid leave as the policy did not cover death in childbirth.