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A near riot outside a hospital in the northeastern city of Recife in mid-August sent shockwaves across Brazil. Inside, a 10-year-old rape victim was having an abortion.
Anti-abortion protesters try to force the door of a hospital in Brazil. Source: Associated Press
Conservative religious groups and right-wing politicians linked to the more radical evangelical churches gathered outside the hospital and tried to break in to stop abortion.
The case of Menina (in Portuguese for “girl”) as she was known because her identity cannot be revealed, came to light after the Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights, Damares Alves, pastor of a Pentecostal church, sent representatives to meet with the girl’s family trying to convince her to keep the baby.
Menina had allegedly been raped by her uncle since she was six years old and both the girl and her legal guardian, her grandmother, decided that abortion was the best and safest measure to take.
The case has sparked debate in this deeply conservative nation that is home to the world’s largest population of fast-growing Catholics and evangelical faiths.
Brazil has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. Abortion is illegal in the country, except in case of rape or risk to the life of the mother.
Both cases were considered to apply to Menina.
Dr. Melania Amorim is a professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the Federal University of Campina Grande and has years of experience treating minor pregnancies.
“The study shows that pregnancies 14 years and younger have a mortality rate four times higher than pregnancies in women 20 years or older,” said Dr. Amorim.
These exceptional abortions are performed in public hospitals, quickly, silently and, by law, anonymously, to avoid further trauma to the victims.
But the right-wing government of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has empowered and emboldened religious and anti-abortion groups that were once isolated on the sidelines.
A militant Bolsonaro supporter released the name, date and location of the hospital where the abortion was to be performed, as well as the girl’s name on social media.
The information brought the small but noisy group of protesters to the front of the hospital, forcing Menina and her grandmother to enter the hospital through a back door, compounding the trauma and violence she had already suffered.
The attitude of the ultra-conservative and right-wing protesters outraged women’s rights groups, sparking what they say is a long-awaited debate in Brazilian society and bringing to light some staggering numbers.
According to a 2019 report published by the Brazilian Public Security Forum, an NGO that uses official data from governments at the state and federal level, there were 66,000 rapes in Brazil in 2018. More than half were girls under the age of 13.
The SUS, Brazil’s public health system, reports that it has performed 32,000 abortions on girls between the ages of 13 and 14 since 2008. In the same period, 26,000 pregnancies carried to term.
In short, six girls aged 13 and under abort every day in Brazil. And every day six babies are born to those girls.
The Covid-19 pandemic made things worse. Domestic violence increased in Brazil and in many parts of the world where families have been forced to isolate themselves.
But, according to Women and Human Rights activists, President Bolsonaro’s government is using the pandemic to defund the few hospitals prepared to support victims of rape and domestic violence.
“We have an increase in violence, while the number of support centers for these cases is decreasing. There was a 45 percent cut in the number of hospitals that perform legal abortions,” said Tatianny Araujo, a health worker and member of Female Resistance.
Dr. Jefferson Drezett is a professor of public health at USP-University of Sao Paulo and for many years he worked in the implementation of care services for women victims of violence and legal abortion services in the public health system.
“It is a very bad time in Brazil. The government and a good part of the Brazilian congress are against abortion even in the circumstances in which it is permitted by law,” said Dr. Drezett.
The Catholic Church expressed its regret over Menina’s abortion with a nuanced statement that read: “The church is saddened that a child has to be killed to save the life of another child.”
At the same time, he denounced the actions of radical politicians and religious in front of the hospital.
The abortion was performed and Menina is recovering well. Menina’s uncle is now in custody.
