On Sunday (23), women from several places across Brazil took to the streets again to oppose the "Rape Bill," also known as the "Child Pregnancy Bill". It proposes to equate legal abortion at over 22 weeks of gestation, including in cases of rape, to homicide.
In the state of Minas Gerais, protests took place in Belo Horizonte, São João Del Rei, Barbacena, Juiz de Fora, Viçosa, Ouro Preto and Uberlândia. In São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, women took over Paulista Avenue, in downtown São Paulo. In Rio de Janeiro, demonstrations took place in Copacabana.
The bill that equates legal abortion in cases of rape with murder moved forward in the Chamber of Deputies on June 12. On that day, the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (Progressive Party), put on the agenda the vote on the urgent request, presented by deputy Eli Borges (Liberal Party), without warning or announcing the number of the bill.
In São Luís, the capital city of Maranhão, social movements and political parties joined a protest against the "Rape Bill" / Photo: Elitiel Guedes
In 23 seconds, Lira considered the urgency request approved in a symbolic vote – without recording the vote of each deputy on the electronic panel – and excluding the chance of opposing demonstrations. In general, symbolic voting occurs when there is already agreement among parliamentarians on the matter, which was not the case. Since then, demonstrations have taken place in many cities across the country.
After huge negative repercussions, Lira backed down and said there are possibilities for changes to the bill's text. One of the changes would be to make homicide penalties equivalent only to cases in which abortion is not legally allowed. Currently, Brazilian laws allow abortion procedures to be carried out on three occasions: rape, risk of death to the mother and fetus anencephaly.
See the repercussions of the act on social networks:
— Thais Ferreira (@southaferreira) June 23, 2024
Todo mundo unido contra a PL 1904. Estuprador não é pai e nenhum homem tem o direito de legislar sobre o corpo das mulheres pic.twitter.com/FpMxOiyWsx
— Leonel de Esquerda (@leonelquerino) June 23, 2024
