Abortion is illegal in Brazil with only three exceptions: risk to the life of the pregnant person, fetus anencephaly (a condition in which parts of the fetus’ skull and brain don’t develop) and rape. In these cases, people can seek an abortion with no time limits.
But a new bill that Brazilian conservatives are attempting to push through seeks to declare all abortions performed after week 22 of the pregnancy as homicide – and punishable with prison terms of up to 20 years.
Rape carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years in Brazil, or up to 12 if serious physical violence is involved. This means a victim of sexual abuse who has a late abortion may serve twice as long in prison as their abuser, critics say.
