The Health Councillor, Antonio Sanz, confirms that Andalusia will comply with the measure announced by the Ministry of Health, although he criticises Mónica García for "always campaigning". The Medical College of Málaga warns that Primary Care lacks resources.
The Junta de Andalucía will implement voluntary interruption of pregnancy through pharmacological means in Primary Care centres if it is finally included in the common services portfolio, as confirmed this Tuesday by the first vice president and councillor of the Presidency, Health and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz. "The law will be complied with because we are obliged to," he stated during his visit to the Alameda-Perchel health centre in Málaga, where he presented the balance of the Andalusian Oral Health Plan, as reported by Diario Sur.
Sanz responded to the announcement from the Ministry of Health, which on Monday proposed bringing pharmacological abortion to Primary Care so that women can start and complete the process at their health centre without needing to be referred to an accredited centre. The measure, which still needs to be specified with the autonomous communities, clashes with the current reality in Andalusia, where Primary Care is limited to informing and referring patients to contracted centres.
The Andalusian councillor attacked Minister Mónica García for believing that the proposal responds to electoral interests. "She is a candidate in Madrid and everything she does is campaigning. This is an electoral ploy," declared Sanz, who also linked the announcement to the indefinite general strike called by medical unions starting on October 28 over the Framework Statute.
"If the minister focused on what she should be doing, she would avoid a strike that could have significant impacts on care, with the doctors being entirely justified in their concerns."
The Andalusian Health Minister estimated that 1.5 million healthcare acts were lost in Andalusia due to previous strikes, costing the public purse 202 million euros. "A long time ago, I decided not to engage in the electoral ploys of the minister," he added, while doubting that the measure would go ahead due to a lack of parliamentary support.
Sources from the Official College of Physicians of Málaga indicated that the proposal has surprised the community, as it expands the service portfolio of an already resource-limited Primary Care system. To implement it in Andalusia, it would be necessary to provide Primary Care with specialists in sexual and reproductive health, as is the case in Catalonia, which entails significant budgetary costs.
These same sources reminded that compliance with the law must be compatible with the right to conscientious objection for professionals who wish to invoke it for ethical reasons, as stated in the Medical Deontology Code. Minister García defended on Monday that effective access to abortion must be guaranteed throughout the territory and that the autonomous communities have the obligation to ensure the provision.
It is now up to the autonomous communities to specify how the service will be organised and which professionals will take on each phase of the process. In Andalusia, the Health Department has not yet detailed whether it will create the role of Primary Care gynaecologist or how conscientious objection will be articulated in health centres.
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