STF judges whether non-pregnant mothers are entitled to maternity leave

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) will judge, next Wednesday (13), whether a non-pregnant mother, in a same-sex union, has the right to maternity leave. The case has general repercussion and the Court’s decision should be applied to all similar cases.

In the process, the City of São Bernardo do Campo (SP) appealed against the decision of the local court that guaranteed the benefit for 180 days to a municipal employee whose partner became pregnant through artificial insemination. The server’s partner is self-employed and did not enjoy the right to leave.

The municipality claims that there is no legal authorization to grant leave in such cases and that the right to paid time off from work is exclusive to the pregnant mother, who needs a period of recovery after the physical changes resulting from pregnancy and childbirth.

In oral arguments last week, the National Confederation of Health Workers (CNTSS) defended the granting of the benefit. He claimed that maternity leave is not an individual benefit, but aims at the well-being of the family and that non-pregnant mothers, although they do not experience the typical changes of pregnancy, bear all the other roles and tasks after the formation of the new bond familiar.

The action’s rapporteur is Minister Luiz Fux and the case was discussed by the president of the STF, Luís Roberto Barroso, due to International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8.