In a world ruled by men, politics, society and justice are made for men. So that men have free access to women's bodies. So that men are not held accountable for their actions, attitudes and crimes. So that men can get away with it, or be punished lightly, for their violence.
Therefore, we announce from now on: we are in favor of safe and legalized abortion for all women and people who are pregnant!
We begin this text by loudly and clearly stating and defending our position. We say what we came here to do: defend girls, women and people who carry children, in this society that insists on hating us.
“Can you think of any law that gives the government the power to make decisions about men’s bodies?” This question was asked by Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States in 2018, and is always remembered when we turn to sexual and reproductive rights that should be guaranteed.
In June 2024, we saw our rights denied and retroactive by a masculine, Christian and misogynistic system, in the same secular State, guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. We then find ourselves, immersed in the conservative bubble of the Brazilian Congress, legislating over our bodies.
March 8M 2024 in Curitiba - PR. Photo by Karen Luckman.
On June 12, 2024, Bill 1904/2024 was urgently approved, which mainly calls for the prohibition of abortion from the 22nd week of pregnancy, even in the exceptional cases already established by the Brazilian Penal Code. The exceptions were imposed by law in 1940, but have not been guaranteed since then.
According to data presented by Flavia Oliveira , of the more than 5,000 Brazilian cities, only 200 offer legal abortion in the health system, 290 of which are hospitals. Most of these are in the Southeast and South regions, in municipalities with the highest HDI, with people with greater access and, often, understanding of the issue. Thus, we have emblematic cases of bureaucratic and institutional barriers to legal abortion . There are countless cases of denial of the right to abortion in cases of rape, whether of children or adults. There are countless cases of people and children needing to travel to other states in the country in order to access their rights. Data that reminds us that we are in the crosshairs of misogynistic, conservative and fundamentalist politics and justice .
The decision to vote on the urgency of Bill 1904, which means moving the agenda to the plenary without the due process of debate in the committees of the Legislative House, demonstrates the shamelessness of the deputies involved in this motion, as well as the lack of importance given to cases like this. Retrogressing almost a century of sexual and reproductive rights established by law represents a colossal setback.
According to the Atlas of Violence , 20,039 children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 14 suffered sexual violence in 2022. These are the girls who go beyond 22 weeks of gestation to access the health system, either because they are unaware of the violence, or because they are unaware of the pregnancy, or because they are embarrassed to tell their family members, or because they do not feel safe telling their family members, or because their family members themselves are the perpetrators of the violence.
They are children affected by a conservative policy that produces violence.
According to the Penal Code , in the case of rape of a vulnerable person, the sentence will be 8 to 15 years. In the case of rape of a person over 14 and under 18, from 8 to 12 years. In the case of a victim over 6 to 10 years of age. Bill 1904 seeks to establish a sentence of 6 to 20 years in prison, equivalent to the sentence of simple homicide for both the person who has an abortion and the doctors who assist her, a greater sentence for the person who has an abortion than for the person who commits the crime of rape .
The Child Pregnancy Bill comes to haunt us with the possibility of girls becoming mothers. When our most promising role would be to protect children, build bonds of affection and care, seeking possible futures in this world that insists on killing us.
"Children are not mothers" event in Curitiba - PR. Photo by Pamella Biernaski / @pseudobruxa
Act in João Pessoa. Photo by Lara Brito - G1.
"Children are not mothers" act - June/2024. Photo by Mídia Ninja.
Photo by Paulo Pinto - Agência Brasil.
Photo by Paulo Pinto - Agência Brasil.
It is important to highlight that Brazil is going against a movement present in Latin America to decriminalize abortion. By the end of September 2023, Uruguay, Cuba, Guyana, French Guiana, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina had legislation decriminalizing abortion. in Latin America.
Decriminalization is a first step towards basic care that women and people in management need to receive in situations of unwanted pregnancy for any reason, especially in cases of violence.
“Women should have the right to decide whether they want to have a child or not. If that is the right time in their life. If that is the partner with whom they wanted to have a child. If this is the right time in their life to have a child. If having a child could interfere with their plans or not. If they are able to support a child at this time or not.” – Isabela Reis.
The advancement of this agenda should be accompanied by guidelines for the areas of health and education. Sex education is necessary so that children and adolescents recognize their bodies, their changes from one age to the next, so that they recognize violence that cannot be confused with affection. Health is necessary to keep these children, women and pregnant people safe when the need arises, causing less harm to their lives.
Understanding the depth of this issue and the danger of regression makes us think about the choices and their impossibility in a conservative and misogynistic society. It makes us think about the importance of taking a stand and standing up for the fight. It calls us to action !
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Ananda Vilela , Black woman from the outskirts of Suzano, in Greater São Paulo. PhD student in International Relations at PUC-Rio and master's degree from the same institution. I research race and racism in International Relations and also the intersections between race, gender and class in social relations.
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