TAG: Brazil

As the Brazilian crisis unfolds, the abortion frontlines keep burning

Since our reports of early 2015, SPW has always linked developments in the abortion debate to the on-going Brazilian political and economic crisis. On April 17th, 2016, this crisis reached an initial point of culmination when the House of Representatives voted for and approved the admissibility of the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.

Brazilian state violence: one more episode

Luana Barbosa dos Reis Santos was brutally killed by Brazilian cops in the city of Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo) in early April. She was taking her son to a computer class in a motorcycle when three officers stopped her to check if, according to the police, the vehicle had been robbed. The scene was not […]

Threats of retrocession in sexual and reproductive health policies in Brazil during the Zika epidemic

Brazil has one of the most restrictive legislations in the world on abortion. Since 1940, abortion is only allowed in Brazil in cases involving either risk to the woman’s life or rape, and in cases of fetal anencephaly. Yet abortion is common despite these legal restrictions.

The sexual politics in March and early April 2016

We have the great pleasure to inform that our Spanish page has been re-launched. In this opportunity Alejandra Sardá from Akahatá has written an update of Argentinean sexual politics after the 2015 elections that has been translated to English. In March–April, SPW has also collected information on outraging state crackdowns on human rights defenders, feminists […]

Brazilian abortion politics: An update

During 2015, as previously reported by SPW, Brazilian abortion politics continued to evolve under pressures created by the unsettled intersection of regressive policy trends (which have been gaining strength since the mid 2000’s) and the macro-political crisis which has overtaken the Brazilian res publica.

A new bill aims to make Brazil’s abortion law even tougher

The rise of Zika and its troubling possible link to head deformities in babies have certainly reignited the debate over Brazil’s abortion law.

From Sketchy Pills To Upscale Clinics: Illegal Abortion In Brazil

Marina” got pregnant at the age of 20 when she was living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Abortion is illegal in the country, except in rare circumstances, but she knew she had to terminate. “I was young and ambitious,” said the now-31-year-old, who describes herself as upper middle-class. “I had so many career and travel plans. I couldn’t just become a mother at that point.”

Tackling Zika: Have We Learned Our Lesson on Rights?

The Zika virus outbreak and the increase of babies being born with birth defects seemingly linked to the mosquito-transmitted disease have generated a series of prescriptions from governments of the most affected countries about what people need to do and not do. These include asking women to delay pregnancies—until 2018 in El Salvador, for example.

The sexual politics in February 2016

In February, there were good news to report from both Haiti and Europe. In the case of Haiti, the Penal Code reform is underway and the draft document approved by a committee of juridical experts includes a provision that legalizes abortion on the basis of public health concerns and freedom of women. Although this is […]

The many places of prostitution

In late November, 2015, the Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IFCS/UFRJ) hosted a one week course called “A particular revolution: the Brazilian prostitute movement“. The course examined the roots, history, contexts and connections of the prostitutes’ movement since its founding in the 1970s. The Prostitution Policy […]

Confronting a new epidemic: consequences of the Zika virus for public health and reproductive rights

WHO predicts up to four million cases of the mosquito-borne Zika infection just this year. In the past few weeks, there has been a storm of news articles and statements in the world press about the Zika virus. Among those written by abortion rights activists are calls for governments with restrictive abortion laws to legalise […]

Pope and Patriarch Misrepresent the True Meaning of Secularism and Seek to Impose their Beliefs on Others

Catholics for Choice On his way to Mexico, Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic church, met with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill for the first time since the schism of the two religions in the 11th century. They signed an interreligious joint declaration that was supposed to solidify their shared Christian values, but instead the […]