The Maternity of Lilas, an establishment notoriously known for its commitment to women, is again threatened. The Almaviva Health group was interested in a cover, but will he allow her to continue her mission with women? What will become of motherhood if it falls into private hands? This is what a users’ petition is concerned about, which has already gathered more than 4,000 signatures.
“While the owners of the walls change, the objectives and commitments of the potential buyers are not clear as to the maintenance of the maternity activity and its non-profit association status, supported by the public sector”, write this petition.
120 jobs at risk
“The idea of the petition is to support users. It is an issue of public health, feminism and local employment because 120 jobs are at stake”, explains to 20 minutes Jeanne Barral, 33-year-old curator and member of the Lilas maternity association, who launched this petition.
This is not the first time that motherhood has been threatened. In 2013, she was to go to a wing to renovate of the André-Grégoire intercommunal hospital in Montreuil, but the staff opposed it, mobilizing through demonstrations and even imagining a bare schedule. More than 130 elected leftists and environmentalists had appealed to François Hollande to safeguard maternity. In 2015, defenders of the maternity of Lilas were chained in front of the Ministry of Health in Paris.
Will motherhood once again escape the worst? “In order to be able to continue to give birth freely, to be accompanied in a philosophy of benevolence and trust, let’s allow this unique establishment to renew itself in a new suitable place, with a sufficient budget, let’s affirm the trust and political support to this project”, is it written in the petition, which urges the ARS and the Ministry of Health “to take up the file”.