The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) in Santa Catarina is investigating the performance of the Polydoro Ernani de São Thiago University Hospital (HU) in Florianópolis, in the case of an 11-year-old girl, a victim of rape, who was denied a legal abortion by the institution. , which is considered a reference in cases of legal termination of pregnancy. The hospital’s claim is that, after 22 weeks of pregnancy, it would only be possible to proceed with a legal abortion through a court decision. 
According to the MPF, legal abortion does not require any judicial authorization or police communication, and there are no limits in the legislation related to gestational age and fetal weight for performing the procedure. Because of this, the prosecutors issued this Wednesday (22) a recommendation to the superintendent of the University Hospital, Joanita Angela Gonzaga Del Moral, so that she can guarantee patients who seek the health service to carry out pregnancy termination procedures in the cases of legal abortion, without restrictions.
“The refusal to perform an abortion or the requirement of requirements not provided for by law in cases of legal abortion constitutes a hypothesis of psychological violence, harms the right to women’s health, psychological integrity and the prohibition of submission to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment. of women and several international commitments to which Brazil is a signatory”, argued the MPF, in a note.
Understand
The case came to light in a publication by the news website The Intercept Brasil, last Monday (20). According to the report, on May 4, the 11-year-old girl and her mother went to the HU to try to have the procedure, which was denied. Days later, Judge Joana Ribeiro Zimmer and prosecutor Mirela Dutra Alberton, who were responsible for the investigation of the rape, asked the girl to keep the pregnancy for “one or two more weeks”, to increase the survival of the fetus, in addition to prohibiting carrying out the pregnancy. of abortion. A decision by the magistrate even kept the girl in a public shelter, away from her family. Yesterday (21), however, the Santa Catarina Court of Justice (TJSC) determined his departure from the shelter and return to the mother guard. The case is being processed in judicial secrecy, “a circumstance that prevents its discussion in public”, the court emphasized. After the repercussion of the case, Judge Joana Ribeiro Zimmer was removed from the case. In a note, the TJSC reported that the Internal Affairs Office opened an investigative procedure on the conduct of the process.
Other side
Sought, the direction of the University Hospital reported that it does not pass on information about procedures related to the medical records of patients treated at the institution. In addition, he highlighted that “demonstrations, at the moment, are not possible because the case is under judicial secrecy”.
Regarding the criterion for carrying out the termination of pregnancy, the Hospital reaffirmed that, after the limit of 20 weeks of gestation, the unit only performs the procedure supported by a court decision.
“When the gestational age limit established by the protocol to conduct the procedure is exceeded, we advise the family to appeal in court to ensure this right. We carry out numerous referrals to the judiciary, which normally grants the request with agility, understanding the complexity and urgency However, there are specific situations in which the judiciary’s conduct does not correspond to the expectation of the HU care team in meeting health demands in their entirety”, says the hospital, in a note.
On the recommendation of the MPF, the direction of the HU claims that the agency “did not base its request on the opinion of the specialized team” of the hospital.
“Under all circumstances, the HU sought to guarantee health care and human rights to children, offering health care, and evaluating the multidisciplinary team in relation to the best conduct for the situation. This institution, which is one of the only ones in the State of Santa Catarina to offer a legal abortion service, has always worked to ensure women’s rights,” he added.
