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Women rally against bill tightening abortion ban in Brazil

Article (news)

Reuters

Brazilian women marched on the main drag along Copacabana beach to protest a bill in Brazil&#x27;s conservative Congress that would equate abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy to homicide and establish sentences of six to 20 years in prison.Faced with criticism, Congress announced on June 18 that the initiative would be put on hiatus for six months, reversing its decision and withdrawing the urgent nature that had been approved by the conservative majority.Brazil&#x27;s restrictive abortion laws mean many Brazilian women seeking to end pregnancies resort to unsafe illegal abortions and botched procedures, which caused dozens of deaths every year.The demonstrators say the proposal is the most repressive approach to women&#x27;s reproductive rights in decades and a lurch backwards for civil and human rights.Abortion is allowed in Brazil only in cases of rape, foetal deformation or when the mother&#x27;s life is in danger. If the bill, which has the backing of evangelical lawmakers, goes through, abortions by rape victims would be interpreted in the law as homicide after 22 weeks gestation.Feminist groups criticized the proposed legislation for imposing harsher penalties than those given to the rapists themselves in Brazil.They also argue that the changes would greatly impact children abused by family members. Such children, often lacking the understanding or support to recognize themselves as crime victims, frequently discover their pregnancies late.Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called the bill &quot;insane&quot; and said his government will defend the current laws that punish rapists and treat their victims with respect.Protests began last week in Brazil&#x27;s largest cities after the lower chamber of Congress voted to put the bill on a fast track for approval. - Report from Reuters

Brazilian women marched on the main drag along Copacabana beach to protest a bill in Brazil's conservative Congress that would equate abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy to homicide and establish sentences of six to 20 years in prison.

Brazilian women marched on the main drag along Copacabana beach to protest a bill in Brazil's conservative Congress that would equate abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy to homicide and establish sentences of six to 20 years in prison.