Ginés Donaire I Jaén, (EFE).- Jaén is the only Andalusian province where it is not possible to abort either in public or private health. “I had to take my car and go to Seville, more than 300 kilometers away, to a private clinic with no more help than my family,” Laura Lendínez, one of the hundreds of women who in recent years have been forced to leave their province in order to have an abortion.
The ordeal suffered by Laura Lendínez began in 2013. And since then she has not been able to erase the physical and psychological consequences of being forced to leave her land in order to have an abortion.
“I remember that my water broke in a clinic waiting room. And that Social Security completely ignored me,” says this 42-year-old woman. She is one of the more than 4,000 women from all over Spain who are forced to travel to another province every year to carry out the voluntary interruption of pregnancy (IVE).
Failure to comply with the Organic Law
According to the Ministry of Health, a dozen Spanish provinces did not report any abortion last year. Specifically Jaén, Huesca, Teruel, Cuenca, Toledo, Guadalajara, Palencia, Ávila, Segovia, Soria and Zamora. In addition to the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
Lendínez was forced to have an abortion when she was diagnosed with ‘Edwards syndrome’. A malformation that gave him very little hope of life for her baby.
“It is unfortunate that they have been breaking an Organic Law for more than 12 years. And also that no administration has taken the necessary measures within the scope of its powers to reverse the situation, ”complains Juana Peragón, spokesperson for the 8M Feminist Movement. She that she has spent years denouncing, without success, the discrimination suffered by women in this province.
The Andalusian Minister of Health and Consumption, Catalina García, pointed out in April in the regional Parliament that “in a very short period of time” women from Jaen who wish to do so will be able to have an abortion in the Andalusian public health system. And for this, it will begin with a reference hospital in each province.
However, Juana Peragón, from the 8M Movement, says that they have been waiting for two months for the counselor to receive them. And she regrets that the situation remains the same, despite García’s statements.
conscientious objection
In the same way, the feminist movements criticize the non-compliance that is being made with the registration of professionals who claim to be objectors to performing abortions. “Conscientious objection should never be placed above women’s rights, as is the right to abortion,” they recall from the 8M collective.
At the same time, they see it as contradictory that important subsidies are allocated to entities and associations to support pregnant women and mothers without resources. But on the other hand, there is no support, advice and accompaniment program for women who freely choose to undergo an IVE.
“It seems evident that the administration is yielding to the pressure of the physicians by not demanding that this record be complied with,” says Peragón. And he concludes: “It is clear that there is a lack of political will to solve a historic demand.” EFE