Congress is campaigning against the right to legal abortion for unborn children. Even electoral gains seem unable to explain such cruelty. After all, according to Datafolha, 58% of Brazilians think the law on this issue should remain as it is (34%), include more permits (17%), or decriminalize abortion (7%).
The penal code allows this procedure in cases of endangerment of the woman’s life, fetal anencephaly, or rape, and sexual relations with a minor under the age of 14 constitutes rape.
According to the WHO, in 2023 Brazil’s birth rate for girls aged 10 to 14 years per 1,000 women was 2.4, higher than the world average (1.5). The index for the country’s northern region (4.7) is higher than that of sub-Saharan Africa (4.4), the worst in the world.
In 2024, in 61% of rape cases, the victim was under 14 years old, and these children had difficulty safely terminating their pregnancies. In 2021, of the 1,556 abortion-related hospitalizations in the 10- to 14-year-old age group, only 8% were for legally recognized reasons.
Therefore, the National Council on the Rights of Children and Youth has established through a resolution a service protocol that facilitates access to abortion for minors. However, on Thursday (5th), the House of Representatives approved an ordinance to overturn the resolution, but the current law remains unchanged.
The project goes to the Senate, where other foolish proposals are being dealt with. One is to block telemedicine (medication-based) abortions, even if the WHO has shown that the method is safe. Another law prohibits abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape or anencephaly.
Currently, incidents after 22 weeks only occur due to the state’s inability to guarantee this right, and it is generally poor girls who take the time to realize they are pregnant and seek help. Problems that telemedicine and Konanda’s solution have the potential to solve.
Representatives and senators should be ashamed of their actions against the physical and mental health of raped children. We need to break this terrible cycle of violence, not perpetuate it.
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