BRASÍLIA, August 11, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Supreme Court of Brazil is set to consider legalizing abortion in the mostly Catholic country. After the matter had traveled through lower courts, the Supreme Court was set to consider abortion of anencephalic babies (a condition where the fetus does not develop parts of the brain). However, in an unexpected announcement last week the government news agency revealed that “The justices of the supreme court will consider also the situation in cases of other diseases, and the right to abortion itself, even when the child is healthy.” The news does not come as a surprise to Brazilian pro-life leaders who have warned that the move to allow abortion of anencephalic babies was a mere ploy to open the door to a wide legalization of abortion. Brazilian pro-life leader, Humberto L Vieira of PROVIDAFAMILIA, previously warned that the great interest in setting a legal precedent for abortion of anencephalic babies was that, if approved, there would be no way to forbid it in other circumstances of fetal deformity.
Brazilian criminal law allows abortion only in cases of rape and when it is the only way to save the life of the mother. Moreover, the latest statistics have found that 90% of the population of the heavily Catholic country opposes abortion. (https://www.ccr.org.br/arq/ccribope.pdf ) Pro-life leaders in Brazil have informed LifeSiteNews.com that Dr. Thomas Gollop, a pro-abortion physician in Sao Paulo Brazil, first requested and obtained permission to abort anencephalic babies in 1992. Since then he has encouraged doctors to repeatedly request the same permission, leading to the court action. Moreover, the U.S. based McArthur Foundation, one of the foremost abortion-pushers in the world, provides almost six million dollars every three years to support some 38 organizations intent on legalizing abortion in Brazil. Pro-life leaders warn that the situation is grave. Four out of the eleven Supreme Court Justices had already exposed their positions in favour of abortion of anencephalic babies, with other justices indicating they were leaning in the same direction.
Brazil’s pro-life leaders are requesting the assistance of pro-lifers the world over to contact the Supreme Court Justices with their concerns. “The Supreme court of Brazil is being shamefully manipulated by foreign entities to impose in Brazil the practice of abortion, which is radically against the thinking of the overwhelming majority of the Brazilian population,” says PROVIDAFAMILIA. To express concerns to the eleven justices: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] jhw