Carlos Ayala, president of the Administrative Tribunal of the Public Function, questioned the discriminatory nature of an article in a bill. Ayala considers the article to be discriminatory against private sector doctors, as he believes they have the same technical education as those in the public sector. 'I suppose the intention (of the article) is to prevent fraud, but we wondered when we were analyzing the document, how can one commit fraud with a pregnancy?', Ayala quipped. He believes that in this case, 'the same standard of the labor code should apply, which is to present a pregnancy certificate and its progress.' Regarding maternity leave, Ayala added that Article 103 (of the law being analyzed) states that it must be issued by any physician serving the State. 'However, the labor code says that any physician can do it, and the Constitution does not say that it must be only a public physician,' he said.
Venezuelan Official Criticizes Discriminatory Pregnancy Law Article
Carlos Ayala, president of the Administrative Tribunal, has spoken out against a bill requiring that pregnancy certificates be issued only by public doctors. He deems this provision discriminatory and points out that the Constitution and labor code do not include such a restriction.
