Thousands of women protested against a bill advancing in Brazil’s conservative Congress. They marched with placards and banners on Sao Paulo’s main Paulista Avenue on Saturday (June 15). If the bill is passed, abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy will be considered equal to murder. And for this a sentence of six to 20 years of imprisonment has been recommended. British news agency Reuters reported this news.
Protesters rejected the proposal. They called the bill the most repressive measure against women’s reproductive rights in decades. People of all ages, including many retirees and children, participated in the protest. Banners and placards in their hands read – ‘A child is not a mother, not a rapist father.’
Abortion is only allowed in Brazil if there is rape, fetal malformation or the mother’s life is in danger. If the bill becomes law, abortion after 22 weeks would be considered genocide, even if a rape victim becomes pregnant.
Feminist groups have criticized the proposed law in Brazil instead of harsher punishments for rapists.
The bill, they argued, would greatly affect children abused by family members. Because children do not realize that they have been raped, their pregnancy is often discovered late.
Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized the bill. In a press conference at the G7 summit in Italy, Lula said it was madness to want to punish a woman more than a rapist.
Currently in Brazil the maximum penalty for rape is 10 years in prison.
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