During a speech in Setúbal on Mother’s Day, Rui Rocha highlighted the challenges faced by pregnant women in Portugal, stating that many expectant mothers “in many parts of the country have difficulty accessing a family doctor,” which affects the monitoring of their pregnancies.
He emphasized, “Today, in many areas of Portugal, including here in the Setúbal region, it is very difficult for many pregnant women to access basic services like sonograms. This is not acceptable in Portugal in 2025,” pointing out the “significant difficulties in finding open obstetrics and gynecology emergency services” on the southern bank of the Tejo River.
Rui Rocha stressed the need to “change this situation where pregnant women in Portugal face closed emergency doors, travel dozens or even hundreds of kilometers to find an open emergency, wait in ambulances, or give birth in hospital corridors.”
Arguing that “this is a poor sign for a country that aims to grow and have happy mothers,” Rui Rocha called for pregnant women to be prioritized in the assignment of a family doctor and made a vow to those living in the district of Setúbal.
“With the IL, if not before, at least from 2026, there will always be an open emergency door. We must ensure this, and the IL is committed to this objective: from 2026, an open emergency door for pregnant women in this district,” he promised.
The IL leader stressed that this commitment “is not fiction,” but rather about having “the political courage to make the right decisions, rationalize the offer of emergency services, concentrate resources and response capacity,” reiterating that “from 2026, with the IL, there will always be an open door, and the pregnant women of this district will know which team will accompany them.”
In his address, Rui Rocha also revisited the discussion on extending parental leave debated in the current legislature in the Assembly of the Republic, accusing two parties of “delaying the discussion” and preventing the matter from “being voted on.”
“Those parties are the PS and the AD coalition,” Rui Rocha criticized, accusing the AD of opposing the extension and presenting “poorly calculated accounts” on the matter because “they do not consider the social benefits and savings such a measure would entail.”
He noted that money “would not be spent with children staying with their parents under the Happy Crèche program, and savings would occur in social security leaves, as we know that during the first months of life children fall ill more frequently,” he mentioned.
Rui Rocha argued that “those responsible for governing must present accurate accounts” and added that the AD “did not present accurate accounts to prevent the approval of this measure.”
“I want to assure you that, with the IL, this measure will be one of the first to advance, and parental leave will likely be discussed in the Assembly of the Republic within the first months, as it is IL’s desire to have it paid 100% for the first six months and shared between the father and mother,” he promised.
Prior to Rui Rocha’s speech, Joana Cordeiro, IL’s top candidate in Setúbal, stressed that today’s event marks the campaign’s launch because the Portuguese people were “dragged” into elections, following a “political crisis that didn’t need to happen.”
“Faced with suspicions, Luís Montenegro first chose silence and then gradually shared information at a slow pace. This reflects the image of the AD over the last year: everything at a drip-feed, everything at a slow pace,” she accused, also criticizing the PS for preferring to “wear out [the AD] instead of inquiring.”
