Unpaid La Mancha clinics stop abortions
Private entities say they will accept referrals from healthcare system in cases where health is at risk
The seven private clinics that carry out voluntary pregnancy terminations via an agreement with the Castilla-La Mancha health service are from today to stop accepting public-system patients because of continued non-payment by the region.
The Dator, El Bosque, Cire, Ginemur, Deia Médica, Iris and Instituto Ginecológico Murcia clinics said cash-strapped Castilla-La Mancha had not paid them for terminations carried out since the Abortion Law, which guaranteed all women public-system coverage for the procedure, came into force in February 2010. "The clinics' situation is unsustainable," said a spokesman for the centers.
However, in a statement on Thursday, the clinics did say they would go on providing terminations in special health-related or economic circumstances.