Brazil could see an increase in child mothers after lawmakers voted to tighten restrictions on abortion access for underage victims of rape. The vote, which took only two minutes of debate, aims to dismantle a resolution from the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents that previously mandated prioritizing the interests of victims.
Changes to Regulations
Previously, regulations stipulated that minors who disagreed with their parents or guardians regarding their pregnancy could obtain free legal assistance to safeguard their rights. Under the new rules, priority is given to parents to decide, meaning children pregnant as a result of sexual violence will lose special protections and face greater difficulty obtaining an abortion if their guardians oppose it.
The state body described the vote as a 'historic defeat in the comprehensive protection of girls and adolescents in Brazil' and called it a 'serious setback.' Right-wing Senator Damares Alves supported the change, arguing that the previous regulation 'disregards the role and strips away the authority of parents and guardians to decide on the care of girls and adolescents in situations of sexual violence.'
Legal Context
Brazil punishes abortions with up to four years in prison, with exceptions for cases of rape, risk of death for the mother, or severe fetal brain malformation. The Senate and Chamber of Deputies have approved the change, but it faces one final hurdle: gaining approval from allies of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.
This development follows a 2022 case in which a judge in Brazil banned an 11-year-old rape victim from having an abortion after she became pregnant. A medic refused to perform the procedure, citing a 20-week limit and the need for a court order. The case reached Judge Ribeiro Zimmer, who reportedly told the court that if the mother wanted to protect her daughter, she would not 'submit her to homicide.'
The girl, accompanied by her mother, was seen by a doctor at the Polydoro Ernani de São Thiago University Hospital. They told a psychologist at the hospital that they did not wish to continue the pregnancy. Two days later, prosecutor Mirela Dutra Alberton petitioned the court to place the girl in a shelter. The prosecutor stated in court documents that pregnancy at such a young age is high risk, noting that 'a child at a young age does not have a biological structure in the formative stage suitable for a pregnancy.'
Judge Zimmer sent the girl to a shelter for women to protect her from her aggressor. Her mother reportedly said that if she had not been taken to the shelter, she would have performed the abortion on her daughter herself. The judge told the mother that granting the abortion would not be 'protecting her daughter' but rather 'subjecting her to a homicide.' The Court of Justice of Santa Catarina has since launched an investigation into Judge Zimmer's ruling.
