Outraged Brazilian women stage protests against bill to equate late abortions with homicide

The bill, projected by blimpish lawmakers and heading for a ballot successful the little house, would besides use successful cases of rape. Critics accidental those who question an termination truthful precocious are mostly kid rape victims, arsenic their pregnancies thin to beryllium detected later.

To rally opposition, rights’ groups created the ‘A kid is not a mother’ run that has flooded societal media. Placards, stickers and banners emblazoned with the slogan person abounded during demonstrations. And viral visuals depicting women successful reddish cloaks comparison Brazil to Gilead, the theocratic patriarchy Margaret Atwood created successful her dystopian novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale."

About 10,000 people, mostly women, filled respective blocks of Sao Paulo’s main boulevard connected Saturday afternoon, organizers estimated. It was the biggest objection yet, pursuing events successful Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Florianopolis, Recife, Manaus, and different cities. Many wore greenish apparel and scarves, a communal show successful women’s rights mobilizations crossed Latin America.

Marli Gavioli, 65, has mostly refrained from protesting since demonstrations successful the 1980s that called for the extremity of the subject dictatorship, but she told The Associated Press she's excessively outraged to stay home.

“I couldn’t enactment retired of this, oregon I would regret it excessively much. We are being whipped from each sides, america women. It’s past clip we bash something," she said.

Brazil lone permits termination successful cases of rape if determination is an evident hazard to the mother’s beingness oregon if the fetus has nary functioning brain. Aside from those exceptions, Brazil’s penal codification imposes betwixt 1 and 3 years jailhouse clip for women who extremity a pregnancy. Some Brazilian women alert overseas successful bid to get abortions.

If the measure becomes law, the condemnation would emergence to betwixt six and 20 years erstwhile an termination is performed aft 22 weeks. Critics person highlighted that would mean convicted rapists could person lesser sentences than their victims.

Experts accidental that precocious entree to termination reflects inequalities successful wellness care. Children, mediocre women, Black women and those surviving successful agrarian areas are peculiarly astatine risk.

“We cannot beryllium sentenced to situation for having suffered a rape and not receiving enactment and care," Talita Rodrigues, a subordinate of rights’ radical National Front against the Criminalization of Women and for the Legalization of Abortion, said by phone.

Of the 74,930 radical who were victims of rape successful Brazil successful 2022, 61.4% were nether 14 years old, according to a 2023 survey of the Brazilian Forum connected Public Safety, an autarkic radical that tracks crimes.

“For children, it is communal for a gestation to beryllium discovered lone aft 22 weeks," Ivanilda Figueiredo, a prof of instrumentality astatine the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said by phone. For example, they mightiness not cognize that periods — a motion women aren't large — are monthly, she said.

Among the protesters successful downtown Rio connected Thursday was Graziela Souza, a 25-year-old pupil who was sexually assaulted arsenic a child.

“I deliberation it’s precise important for victims to beryllium present, arsenic overmuch arsenic it hurts," Souza said. "We indispensable talk retired and combat against it, due to the fact that if we enactment astatine location we are going to lose."

Defenders of the measure person argued that abortions astatine a aboriginal signifier were unimaginable erstwhile Brazil’s penal codification was adopted successful 1940, which explains wherefore determination is presently nary clip limit. Had it been envisioned, they argue, it would beryllium considered infanticide.

The bill’s author, lawmaker and Evangelical pastor Sóstenes Cavalcante, declined an interrogation petition from the .

On Wednesday, the little location Speaker Arthur Lira rushed done a process to fast-track the measure successful nether 30 seconds, with galore lawmakers reportedly unaware it was taking place. The maneuver allows the plenary to ballot without the measure archetypal clearing committees. Lira has been a apical people for protesters' ire. Signs connected Saturday work “What if it happened to your daughter, Lira?" and simply “Lira out."

Conservative lawmakers proposing the measure — who protesters person dubbed ‘the rape caucus’ — are playing politics, hoping to boost turnout and enactment from Evangelical voters successful October municipal elections, Fernanda Barros dos Santos, a governmental idiosyncratic astatine the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said by phone. Abortion is simply a taxable of precocious interest for Christians, who marque up a bulk of voters successful Brazil.

“The measure puts radical who are progressive successful a precise hard situation, due to the fact that they suffer votes by defending termination rights," said Figueiredo, the instrumentality professor.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s authorities has been seeking inroads with Evangelicals, a cardinal voting bloc for far-right erstwhile president Jair Bolsonaro. Lula bushed Bolsonaro successful the 2022 statesmanlike election.

“The president sent a missive to Evangelicals successful the run saying helium was against abortion. We privation to spot if helium volition veto it. Let’s trial Lula," Cavalcante, the bill's author, told section quality outlet G1 connected Tuesday.

First woman Rosângela da Silva, known arsenic Janja, slammed the connection connected societal media Friday, saying women and girls who are raped request to beryllium protected, not revictimized. Lula yet weighed successful connected Saturday, speaking astatine the G7 successful Italy.

"I had 5 kids, 8 grandchildren and a great-grandchild. I'm against abortion. However, since termination is simply a reality, we request to dainty termination arsenic a nationalist wellness issue," helium said successful a quality conference. “And I deliberation it's insanity that idiosyncratic wants to punish a pistillate with a condemnation that's longer than the transgression who committed the rape."

Although strict termination laws person agelong been the norm crossed the predominantly Roman Catholic portion of Latin America, feminist movements person gained momentum successful caller years and delivered successive victories for abortion-rights campaigners. Colombia’s Supreme Court decriminalized termination successful 2022, pursuing a akin breakthrough ruling by Mexico. Argentina’s Congress legalized termination successful 2020, and a fewer years earlier Chile rolled backmost a strict ban.

In the U.S., the Supreme Court connected Thursday unanimously preserved entree to a medicine that was utilized successful astir two-thirds of each abortions successful the state past year, successful the court’s archetypal termination determination since blimpish justices overturned Roe v. Wade 2 years ago.

Last September, Brazil’s apical tribunal opened a league connected decriminalization of abortion. Former Chief Justice Rosa Weber, present retired, voted successful favor. Chief Justice Luís Roberto Barroso — who besides supports decriminalization — asked for an adjournment and the ballot tin beryllium resumed astatine his behest.

“We are down connected this issue, and we request to combat for progress," Eduarda Isnoldo, a 27-year-old English teacher, said done tears astatine the Sao Paulo protest. “When you recognize that your rights tin beryllium taken distant truthful easily, it’s intolerable to enactment quiet."

Hughes reported from Rio de Janeiro.

This nonfiction was generated from an automated quality bureau provender without modifications to text.

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Published: 16 Jun 2024, 03:22 AM IST