On January 13, 2011, a group of activists that advocate for human rights and gender equality in Brazil sent a manifesto signed by 6215 people to the president Dilma Rousseff, the Minister of Justice, José Eduardo Cardozo, and the Ministers Maria do Rosário and Iriny Lopes, who head the Special Secretary for Human Rights and the Secretary for Women’s Policies, respectively.
The document expresses repudiation in regard to the way the abortion was treated in the course of the 2010 election campaign. It was available on the Internet for signatures during the month of October and was signed by thousands Brazilians and more sevenhundred people from other nationalities.
Dilma Rousseff and candidate José Serra (PSDB), declared, at the end of the campaign that, if they would win the elections, they would not propose any changes in the existing legislation on abortion. These positions reflected the strong pressure and influence of dogmatic religious forces on both campaigns.
>> Read the Manifesto
>> Check the lists of signatures from Brazilians and foreign people
>> Read the article Abortion and Human Rights: Will Brazil be the Next Nicaragua?, written by SPW’s Co-Chair Sonia Corrêa and published at RH Reality Check website. This article is an updated and expanded version of a paper originally published in the SPW’s Newsletter n.8.
