PP and Vox Launch Alicante Maternity Office Amid Criticism and Discrepancies

La Concejalía de Bienestar Social ha aglutinado distintos servicios y personal técnico para poner en marcha la nueva Oficina de Maternidad de Alicante, dedicada a la «la atención integral a madres y familias». La inauguración del nuevo espacio, ubicado en la plaza del Carmen, se ha visto envuelta en la polémica durante la mañana de este miércoles.

Ha sido en sus puertas donde una concentración -que ha contado con la participación de los grupos de la izquierda- ha obligado a acordonar los accesos al edificio municipal, vigilados por un amplio despliegue de policías locales y nacionales.

Esta medida de 'seguridad' ha servido también para facilitar el acceso de los ediles del PP y Vox -ambos grupos acordaron la creación de este departamento municipal como condición para aprobar los presupuestos de 2024- a la puesta de largo de la Oficina, que también ha generado discrepancias en su interior.

Ha sido en el acto inaugural donde el jefe de servicio de la Concejalía de Bienestar Social ha remarcado que «llevamos mucho tiempo» realizando las labores que centrarán la nueva Oficina de Maternidad, la cual es un «punto único» que busca «potenciar y favorecer» el apoyo a mujeres situación de embarazo y posparto «evitando la vulnerabilidad y riesgo en ellas y en los menores».

The councillor responsible for this area, the popular Begoña León, has emphasised that the objective of this Maternity Office is to "offer support, hope, and tools to support this stage with confidence and security." To this end, a dozen municipal technicians who were spread across different social centres have been concentrated to attend to women who "want to voluntarily continue with their pregnancies."

Similarly, León has avoided making assessments about the demonstration waiting at the doors of the Maternity Office, as "we are in a free country and everyone can claim what they want." In this line, she criticised the absence of the opposition inside the building, emphasising that with their reproaches "they cast doubt" on the work of municipal officials.

After her words, in which she highlighted the support and advisory work, the spokesperson for the municipal group Vox, Carmen Robledillo, intervened, stressing that before this office, Alicante women "were not free," as when attending centres, "only one option was offered, the easiest, which is to abort, remove the child from the way due to economic or social problems."

The populist councillor has highlighted the presence of the entities RedMadre and Provida, before which she stressed that in the new Alicante Maternity Office "no one will be coerced because we are free and we decide." In this line, she asserted that "here it is informed that abortion is an option and also that there are others," all of them in "support of motherhood" because "we are free and we decide and we must have both options."

Discrepancies arose after both interventions, when Robledillo had to clarify her accusation to refer to the centres where the option to terminate the pregnancy is offered as "private clinics and public health, like a general practitioner." The clarification was prompted by Begoña León, who defended that from the Department "it has never been said to any woman to go to abort."

Robledillo also criticised Mayor Luis Barcala during the inauguration of the Maternity Office, criticising his absence. León intervened again to explain that the mayor had delegated to her. "Today those who can be here have come, there are no symbolisms," in reference to the presence of the government team councillors Cristina Cutanda, Lidia López, Mari Carmen de España, and Ana Poquet.

The opposition political groups participated in the demonstration that awaited at the doors of the new Alicante Maternity Office. After the inauguration, they expressed their rejection, as it "violates women's rights" and its implementation has served to "try to save the budget due to its lack of support in the plenary," denounced the spokesperson for the socialist municipal group, Ana Barceló.

The councillor defended that the responsibility for support during pregnancy lies with health services, not an administrative service that aims to "steer the feelings of vulnerable women where they want." She also criticised the mayor for the "anti-abortion" office, who "bargains with women's rights under Vox's blackmail."

From Compromís, they have described the Maternity Office as a "sham" over which the City Council "has no jurisdiction." In the coming days, they will go to the Síndic de Greuges to defend "the rights of Alicante women" and also from other parts of Spain, as "the offices will reproduce," highlighted councillor Sara Llobell. "When we have a report, we will see actions from Spain and Europe."

The coordinator of Esquerra Unida, Lucía Ibáñez, spoke on behalf of her municipal group, insisting that the Office is "a joke." In this sense, she stressed that women "need quality social services, decent jobs, reconciliation, schools, and nurseries," and criticised the City Council for "yielding to Vox's demands."