Tensions flare in Brazil as supreme court considers loosening abortion restrictions

Tensions flare in Brazil as supreme court considers loosening abortion restrictions

by Marina Lopes
August 6 2018

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s supreme court is considering decriminalizing abortion through the 12th week of pregnancy, stoking activists' hopes that the country could follow other Latin American nations in loosening abortion restrictions.

Hearings on the issue, which began Friday and continued on Monday, included testimony from dozens of doctors, specialists and religious leaders. Tensions flared in the days leading up to the hearings, with activists on both sides speaking out. Outside the supreme court on Friday, women donned red robes resembling those worn on the hit TV show, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” in favor of decriminalization. Meanwhile, #AbortionisaCrime trended on Twitter, and churches sounded their bells in protest.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/08/06/tensions-flare-brazil-supreme-court-considers-loosening-abortion-restrictions/?utm_term=.b55e1952e7f8