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Brazil protests break out over divisive abortion law
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# Protests across Brazil over divisive abortion law
14 June 2024
By Malu Cursino, BBC News
Reuters
Thousands of people in Brazil have protested against a proposed
nationwide law change which would equate abortion to homicide, even in
cases where a pregnancy is the result of rape.
It would mean women who terminate pregnancies after 22 weeks could be
jailed for up to 20 years.
Brazil's ruling party opposes the move but conservatives in Congress
are attempting to push the bill through.
Protesters have gathered in many Brazilian cities in recent days,
including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília.
Some have carried placards reading "a girl is not a mother", with much
of the anger focused on the impact the law change could have on
under-18s.
Analysis of crime data shows children aged 13 and younger make up more
than 60% of rape victims in the country.
Currently under Brazilian law, abortion is legal in very limited
circumstances - when someone has been raped, if there is risk to life
or if there is a diagnosis of foetal brain abnormality - and can carry
prison sentences of up to three years outside of those cases.
If this change goes ahead, self-administering or consenting to an
abortion could result in a jail sentence equivalent to those handed
out in "simple homicide" cases, which range from six to 20 years.
EPA
The law would also apply to health professionals carrying out the
procedure.
Simple homicide, under Brazil's penal code, is when a person kills
another with intent.
The bill has made quicker progress than expected after lawmakers
bypassed some procedural stages, leading to outcry from opponents.
"We will not accept a setback," councilwoman Monica Benicio told
Reuters news agency.
"We will not accept a conservative government negotiating spurious
policies over our lives. We will continue to advance until legal
abortion is a guaranteed right in Brazil," she added.
EPA
After the vote was pushed through, deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante, who
authored the law change, was buoyant and responded by writing "victory
to life" on social media.
The Brazilian government vehemently opposes the law change, with the
country's human rights minister Silvio Almeida calling it "immoral".
In a statement, Mr Almeida said: "It is difficult to believe that
Brazilian society, with the countless problems that it has, is
currently discussing whether a raped woman and a rapist have the same
value in terms of law."
His comments came as many activists highlighted the jail sentence for
someone charged with rape is around 10 years.
While Brazil is led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's left-wing
party, many of the country's lawmakers belong to former President Jair
Bolsonaro's right-wing Liberal Party (PL) and other conservative
groups.
PL are the largest party in Congress's Chamber of Deputies, but they
will need support from other opposition lawmakers for it to pass.
No date has been set yet for a vote in the Congress's Chamber of
Deputies.
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