Vote on abortion in Brazil postponed for second time

Dec 6, 2005 / 22:00 pm

The vote on a bill that would legalize abortion in Brazil for any reason during all nine months of pregnancy was postponed for the second time due to the lack of attendance by a majority of the members of the Parliamentary Commission on Social Security and the Family at hearings scheduled for Tuesday.

Some 200 pro-life activists gathered at the Commission building and expressed opposition to the bill, taking note as well of the names of those representatives who were in attendance.  Twenty legislators showed up for the hearings but some left, forcing the hearings to be postponed as the presence of seventeen Commission members is required to proceed to a final vote.

According to the Brazil news agency, Commission leaders said a new date would have to be set for the vote.

The author of the bill, Jandira Feghali of the Communist Party of Brazil, wants abortion to be legalized during all nine months of pregnancy.  The bill would also allow the distribution of abortifacient contraceptives at health care facilities and hospitals across the country.

Pro-life groups rallied hundreds of supporters to protest the bill in cities such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.  Doris Pires, president of the National Association of Women for Life, said, “Abortion is murder and as crime, it must be prohibited.”