The Valencian government, chaired by the PP, grants a grant of almost 10,000 euros to an anti-abortion entity active in Alicante. The Vice Presidency and Ministry of Equality, led by Susana Camarero, approved a set of grants of one million euros for two hundred associations, including Red Madre, an anti-abortion foundation close to the most conservative sector of the PP.
The Red Madre Foundation has long been the example to which PP leaders, at the time of Pablo Casado, referred when asked about their positions on abortion. His sponsors include former Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz Gallardón and Adolfo Suárez Illana. It is currently headed by Benigno Blanco, former president of the Spanish Family Forum, an association which has made the fight against abortion, euthanasia and marriage equality its banner under the discourse of defense of life.
The foundation’s website contains sections that discourage women from having abortions. Under the heading “thinking about abortion”, they include a series of entries on “post-abortion trauma” or physical risks, a text entitled “your child” where it is said that “from the first cell the new human body is already constituted”, illustrated with ultrasounds of women in an advanced state of pregnancy. In this section, the foundation states: “The embryo’s heart begins to beat between the 17th and 21st day after fertilization. That is, when a woman begins to suspect that she is pregnant, the outline of her embryo’s heart is already beating. They also claim that there is scientific evidence that the fetus feels pain during abortion. The purpose of the entries is obvious.
Verònica Ruiz, deputy of Compromís, requested the file for granting this aid and questioned the vice-president of the Consell, emphasizing that this entity “does not respect the law on sexual health”. The resolution on equality, published this Tuesday in the Official Journal of the Generalitat Valenciana, indicates that the aid is intended for entities “that develop programs to promote associations and equality between men and women in the Valencian Community” . It is one of the anti-abortion entities in Spain that has received the most public money.
The foundation requested the grant for the “Promotion of women’s associations in social exclusion 2024” program. According to the approved text, Red Madre requested 12,000 euros for the program; The resolution includes 9,308.18 and will have to justify 15,000 euros. The regional secretary for Equality and Diversity, Asunción Quinzá, stressed that this aid “is part of a global strategy of the Consell to achieve a fairer and more egalitarian society”.
