Mothers in Spain underappreciated, not supported by the government, says family institute

Madrid, Spain, May 6, 2008 / 14:43 pm

As Mother’s Day was marked in Spain on Sunday, the president of the Institute for Family Policy, Eduardo Hertfelder, commented, “There isn’t much reason to celebrate it,” as mothers “are not only underappreciated in Spain, they also lack the support” of the government.

Hertfelder noted that mothers in Spain “do not have the necessary social and political support.”  Although “Mother’s Day is widely celebrated in Spain and expresses a social appreciation for mothers and for maternity,” the support of the government “is ridiculous in Spain, as Spanish public policy for the family is the stingiest in all of Europe.”

The economic, legal and social obstacles “are so great that Spanish women are not guaranteed the right to have the number of children they desire, and the obstacles that prevent that are not eliminated,” he continued.  Therefore, “we are not only last in Europe in assistance per child, we are the country that provides the least help to families,” Hertfelder stressed.

He noted that the “balancing of professional life and family life is still very deficient” in Spain and that “when a couple has a child there is no public assistance policy allowing one of the spouses to request a leave of absence to care for their children.”

“Public officials are not eliminating the obstacles that prevent couples from having the children they want,” Hertfelder indicated, adding that for this reason the birth rate in Spain is declining, with relief coming solely from immigration in recent years.