Abortion in Brazil

Abortion is currently illegal in Brazil except under the following two circumstances: the life of the mother is in danger, or the pregnancy is the result of rape.

Otherwise, the punishment for a woman to perform an abortion on herself or consenting to an abortion is one to three years imprisonment. If the abortion causes any harm to the woman the punishment increases by one third. If the abortion causes the death of the woman, then the punishment is doubled for the consenting party.

Legislation about abortion can be found on the Brazilian Penal Code, Title I (Crimes Against the Person), ch. I, Article 124 (Crimes Against Life).

Abortion proponents have been trying to change the law to include some critical deformations like anencephaly (absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp), but have not been successful. The Brazilian Supreme Court considered a claim to legalize the abortion of anencephalic fetuses in October 2004, but rejected it after public pressure from the Catholic Bishops Conference of Brazil.

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