June 15, 2024, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil: People demonstrate in opposition to (Bill 1904/24 equates abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy to the crime of homicide), supported by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira. Protesters argue that rape victims who obtain abortions after the 22nd week should not be criminalized, especially with penalties that may be more severe than those imposed on rapists themselves. They also highlight that the reality of abuse against children up to 14 years of age in the country is alarming and that these young people need to be protected, not penalized. (Credit Image: © Wagner Vilas/ZUMA Press Wire)
Protesters dressed as Margaret Atwood's dystopian "Handmaid's Tale" characters during an anti abortion bill rally in Sao Paulo on June 15 Wagner Vilas/ZUMA

Updated June 20, 2024 at 6 p.m.*

SÂO PAULO — It took just 23 seconds: on June 12, the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil’s lower house, approved the urgency regime for bill 1904/24, which equates abortions carried out after 22 weeks of gestation, even in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape, to the crime of simple homicide. That would carry a penalty of six to 20 years in prison.

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Being pushed through under the urgency regime means that the project can be approved in a short time, without being discussed by the parliamentary commissions. The bill is inhumane and irresponsible. It demonstrates the total disconnect between the daily demands of the people and the agenda of the legislature, which is supposed to be the house of the people.

How can fast-tracking this new law be justified? How many girls under 14 that became pregnant after being raped were heard by the members of parliament? What data was collected to understand the barriers to accessing legal abortion in cases of rape?

The only urgency on this topic should be in punishing rapists and in protecting children and teens.

Prioritizing children

According to the “Anuário Brasileiro de Segurança Pública” (Brazilian Public Security Yearbook), cases of rape in Brazil are on the rise, and they reached 75,000 in 2023. The number only takes into account cases that were reported to the police, which represent around 8.5% of total cases, as shown in a 2023 study carried out by the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Institute of Applied Economic Research, IPEA).

The demographic profile of the victims of rape highlights social inequalities and questions the rationality of the bill. More than 88% of them are women, 61.4% are under the age of 14, 10.4% are younger than four and 56.8% are black.

To put these numbers differently, 134 girls younger than 14 were raped everyday in 2023, but this only counts cases reported to the police. Which, according to IPEA estimates of 8.5%, would put the actual number of rapes above 1,500 a day.

Regional differences

The higher rates of girls under 14 that were victims of rape per 100,000 inhabitants were observed in the states of Roraima (163.7), Acre (117.8) and Amapá (114.4). All three of them are in the north of Brazil, which features the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the country. Every year, about 0.5% of deaths for girls aged below 14 are caused by complications during pregnancy, childbirth or the puerperium (the period of adjustment after childbirth). This number should be zero.

An analysis of data from 2015 to 2020 estimates that only 3.9% of girls aged 10 to 14 that were victims of rape had access to legal abortion.

This would mean taking away the future and the lives of girls whose rights have never been respected.

According to data from the “Cadastro Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Saúde” (National Register of Health Establishments), 160 establishments are registered to perform abortions in cases of rape, distributed in 108 municipalities. In other words, the procedure can only be pursued in 1.9% of Brazilian municipalities.

If we look at the three states with the highest ratio of victims of rape aged below 14 per 100,000 inhabitants, Roraima and Acre have only one establishment each in their capitals, while Amapá has none.

une 15, 2024, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil: On Saturday afternoon (15), there was a demonstration to demonstrate opposition to (Bill 1904/24 equates abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy to the crime of homicide), supported by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira. Protesters argue that rape victims who obtain abortions after the 22nd week should not be criminalized, especially with penalties that may be more severe than those imposed on rapists themselves. They also highlight that the reality of abuse against children up to 14 years of age in the country is alarming and that these young people need to be protected, not penalized. (Credit Image: © Wagner Vilas/ZUMA Press Wire)
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Taking away their lives and future

Having a registered establishment doesn’t grant automatic access to abortion. Data by Mapa do Aborto Legal (Map of Legal Abortion, created by the human rights organization ARTIGO 19) shows that there is a lack of information on legal abortion in a majority of Brazilian states.

A feeling of guilt and shame.

On top of this, a survey carried out in 2019 with registered establishments showed that only 43% declared that they provide legal abortions, and many of them ask for documents that are not required by law, such as police reports and forensic examinations, which delays the procedure.

Beyond these barriers, victims of rape aged less than 14 face threats and bribes from the rapist (which in two-thirds of cases is a family member), a feeling of guilt and shame and the incapacity to recognize the abuse and understanding what is happening to their body.

Approving this bill means taking away the future and the lives of girls whose rights have never been respected.

*This piece was updated to correct a mistake in the English that had stated that the bill had been approved.