Mar 15, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Brazil’s Secretary for Women’s Policies, Nilceia Freire, admitted this week that political conditions in the country were not favorable for the passage of a controversial new law that would legalize abortion on-demand.
Freire said that the current election year in Brazil does not appear to be an appropriate time to pass the law, which was brought before the Brazilian senate and then later withdrawn. Passage of the law had been a priority for Freire and the Brazilian government.
“Politicians who want to be reelected are not going to take a risk by voting for a bill that is not popular,” Freire said. Polls show that 92% of Brazilians oppose legalizing abortion.
Freire said she hoped to bring up the issue again during the next legislative session, under what she called “better conditions.”