Brazil’s highest court will soon start deciding whether abortion should be made legal. Right now, abortion is permitted only in three situations: if a woman is a victim of rape, if her life is in danger, or if the baby has a severely underdeveloped brain (anencephaly).
If the Supreme Court agrees, it means that abortion will be allowed up to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy without being against the law.
Paloma didn’t know she was going to have a baby until she went to get a birth control implant. When she took a test, it said she was pregnant. She already had three children, and even though this pregnancy wasn’t planned, she was happy to have another baby.
She paid to have a special picture taken of the baby when she was 15 weeks pregnant, so she could find out if it was a boy or girl and start buying clothes.
But during that doctor’s visit, everything changed. They found out the baby had a rare problem called a body stalk anomaly. This means some of the organs were outside the belly, and the baby wouldn’t live long after being born.
She was told to go back to her regular doctor to talk about it. At the next appointment, she asked what was wrong with the baby. The doctor said he couldn’t tell her.
She then asked if the baby would live, and he answered coldly, “You’ll have to wait until it’s born.”
The appointment was over, and she went home with a lot of questions in her mind. She went to another private clinic to make sure of the diagnosis.
The law about abortion in Brazil dates from a long time ago, back in 1940. A body stalk anomaly isn’t a situation where abortion is allowed by this law. But Paloma learned from a private doctor that if she had two other doctors say it was necessary, a judge might agree.
The doctor quickly wrote a report. She just needed her regular baby doctor to agree with it.
Paloma was sure she wanted an abortion when she went back to her regular doctor. He wanted her to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. A nurse said, “That’s the heart beating. You might regret having an abortion.”
Paloma started crying and told him she didn’t want opinions. This was her choice. But it wasn’t. He said no to recommending an abortion.
It took a lot more weeks before she could find the right people to help her. She needed lawyers, doctors who specialize in this, psychologists, and even her husband’s permission to end the pregnancy.
“It was like a terrible dream—because we should be in charge of our own bodies,” she says.
But this week, big changes might happen.
On Friday, Brazil’s highest court will start deciding if abortion should be legal in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Recently, Mexico’s highest court said abortion is okay everywhere in the country. Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia also changed their laws in the past few years. This is surprising because this region usually has very traditional views.
Cristião Fernando Rosas from Global Doctors for Choice Brasil says, “We can’t say this is just how it is in this part of the world anymore. That’s like saying, ‘we don’t support women’s rights.'”
Not everyone agrees, though. Nathalia Prado de Andrade and Milena Barroso Moura Tavares Correia de Oliveira are against abortion.
Nathalia almost had an abortion when she was 21, but her religious mom talked her out of it. Milena, who is 23, had a baby four months ago and is pregnant again. She wants as many kids as God wants to give her.
Both women are Catholic. They think life starts as soon as a baby begins growing. They met online and actively worked against making abortion easier. They believe the Supreme Court is doing this for political reasons.
“We all know that [President] Lula has a leftist agenda—an abortionist agenda,” says Nathalia.
“Feminists defend the freedom to abort, which comes from their sexual liberation. The issues of abortion and feminism work together, and they’re linked to the left.”
Dr. Roberta Kronemberger Santos, who works at the Women’s Hospital in Santo André, has a different opinion. She says, “We need to understand that this isn’t about politics but about personal choices. Everyone should have the right to make their own decisions.”
Dr. Kronemberger Santos has seen cases where women have tried to do abortions at home. By the time they come to the hospital, they are bleeding and have infections.
She believes that the more we talk about this issue, the more people will understand. She says, “We’ve never discussed women’s rights so much before, especially when it comes to facing prejudice. All these conversations are happening together now.”
Dr. Cristião Fernando Rosas has an even stronger viewpoint. He says, “Unfortunately, in Brazil, it’s not just about abortion, family planning, or even the morning-after pill. It’s about some people forcing their religious beliefs on others, which is hurting public health and putting lives in danger.”
He believes the solution is straightforward. He says, “Those who don’t believe in abortion should simply choose not to use that right that’s protected by the constitution.”
SOURCE:BBC