Portland offers paid time off for city employees who have abortions

Portland is reportedly the first city in the United States to offer public employees paid time off following an abortion, according to a policy change from its City Council.

The City Council voted unanimously to approve Portland's bereavement leave protocol to allow city workers to utilize up to three days of paid bereavement leave if they have endured a miscarriage, stillbirth, or loss of pregnancy.

Loss of pregnancy incorporates abortion "irrespective of whether deemed medically necessary," according to the City Council.

Bereavement leave policies that include loss of pregnancy due to a miscarriage or stillbirth are rare, and those that incorporate abortion are all but unheard of, said Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute.