Projects that make abortion more difficult for children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence attempt to “spread moral panic” to weaken the right to legal abortion in Brazil. The assessment was made by the vice-president of the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (Conanda), Marina De Pol Poniwas, for whom the Draft Legislative Decree 03 of 2025approved this Thursday by the Chamber of Deputies, violates fundamental rights. 
“This is a public health debate, not a Legislative one, but they do not want to allow a body like Conanda to exercise its function so that these children and adolescents are actually protected”, he protests.
Marina held the presidency of the Council last year and, therefore, signed the Resolution 258target of draft legislative decree approved by the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday (5). Despite the vote in the Chamber, the resolution remains in force, as the project must also be approved by the Senate to be valid.
The psychologist explains that the council saw the need to edit the resolution after the release of data that indicated record number of rapes in 2023, in Braziland also in response to other projects that attempted to limit access to legal abortion, such as the PL that intended to equate the termination of pregnancy to the crime of homicide, even in cases authorized by law.
According to Marina, there are 13 projects filed with the Chamber against the Resolution, which was also challenged in court.
“Legal abortion is not a crime. The Penal Code has provided for this since 1940. The Child and Adolescent Statute is absolutely protective, a civilizational landmark in our society.”
“What we intended with this resolution is to guide the rights guarantee system on how to use this existing legal framework to access a legal right provided for at least since 1940, but which has been constantly prevented.”
The vice-president adds that Conanda also understood that it is necessary to guide health services, social assistance and schools on the importance of confidentiality. “Resolution 258 does not just talk about abortion, but about the entire process of assistance in cases of sexual violence”, he contests.
The resolution not only deals with the right to legal abortion, but “provides for the care of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence and the guarantee of their rights.” The document explains, for example, that victims must receive specialized assistance, and that health care must be prioritized.
Regarding legal abortion, the text explains that a victim of rape or rape of a vulnerable person who became pregnant as a result of violence does not need to present a police report or court decision to be entitled to a legal abortion..
The resolution also advises that cases of sexual violence only need to be notified, with the identification of the victim, to the Guardianship Council, which is responsible for seeking the Justice system, except for specific exceptions. Still in accordance with the provisions of the text, the child or adolescent victim must be adequately informed about their rights, and their expressed will must be prioritized, in cases of disagreement with their parents or legal representatives.
Marina argues that none of this was “created” by Conanda, which issued the Resolution in accordance with the legislation in force in the country, to combat illegal barriers imposed, such as the requirement for a police report.
“It is a guide so that professionals and operators of the rights guarantee system can have easy access and know how to best manage this rapid, humanized and non-revictimizing care for children who are already in serious suffering.”
Reaction from social movements
Organizations that defend the rights of children and women also reacted to the draft legislative decree and launched a petition against the measure, within the “Child is not a mother” campaignwhich gained great visibility in protest against the so-called Rape Bill. The campaign will also call events for next Tuesday (11). Demonstrations have already been confirmed in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santa Catarina and Espírito Santo.
Laura Molinari, co-director of the “Nem Presa Nem Morta” campaign, which is part of the “Child is not a Mother” action, recalls that the feminist movement has been fighting for around two decades against various projects that attempt to tighten legislation on abortion in Brazil. Over this time, they realized that The proposals increase as the election period approaches.
“It is included in a moral package of far-right candidates and politicians. They are the candidates who say they are against drugs, against gays and against abortion. But we have a real problem that does not come into this account, which is precisely the case of girls who suffer violence and end up pregnant. Pregnancy is an outcome of violence in many cases. And we are talking especially about girls, because they are the biggest victims of sexual violence in Brazil”, argues the activist.
So far, no project has managed to overturn the permissions granted by the 1940 Penal Code, which authorizes the termination of pregnancy in cases of sexual violence and a risk to the mother’s life. Furthermore, in 2012, the Federal Supreme Court extended exceptionality to cases of anencephaly, when the fetal brain does not develop, a condition incompatible with life outside the womb.
Brazilian legislation has never required a police report or legal process to carry out the procedure, and also does not impose a gestational age limit.
Although the right to legal abortion remains guaranteed, Laura says that All these attacks and disseminated false information create deliberate confusion that keeps children and women away from services and creates insecurity for the professionals who work in them..
“Today, less than 4% of Brazilian municipalities have legal abortion services. We have an average of 2,000 legal abortions per year and, in the case of raped girls, there are less than 200 per year, while 30 give birth every day under the age of 14 in Brazil.”
“This regulatory confusion is a problem for the implementation of legal abortion, so Conanda’s resolution came to organize what is already in the law, precisely because in practice access basically does not happen.”
Recent research released by the Patrícia Galvão Institute shows that six out of ten women who were victims of sexual violence before the age of 14 did not tell anyone about the abuse and only 27% trusted a family member. Almost all of those interviewed ─ 96% ─ believe that girls up to 13 years of age do not have the physical and emotional preparation to be mothers.
Another survey carried out by the Institute, in 2020, identified that 82% of respondents are in favor of the right to abortion in cases of rape. They were also asked about the case of the 10-year-old girl, who became pregnant after being raped by her uncle in Espírito Santo, and was only able to undergo the procedure in a hospital in Recife.
For 94% of those interviewed at the time, abortion should be allowed in cases like this. Laura believes that the reaction of social movements after each attack “has helped build public opinion and society an understanding of the legal framework for abortion in Brazil”, but the opportunity is also taken advantage of by those interested in spreading untrue information.
“In terms of those who need to access the illegal abortion service, there is already little information about what the services are, where they are available, where they are not. And with this flood of fake newsreally, people don’t know what to do and end up having a child after all”, ponders the co-director of the campaign Nem Presa Nem Morta
Response in Congress
Parliamentarians opposed to the matter also reacted in the Chamber. Federal deputy Jack Rocha (PT-ES) filed a bill, with the support of 60 other deputies, to “give the force of law” to the guidelines established by the Conanda resolution, fully preserving its wording.
In a video, published on her social networks, the deputy stated that the objective is “to transform into law what should never have been doubted, that a child is not a mother, that a rapist is not a father and that childhood needs protection and not setback.”
“When the majority of the Chamber decides to suspend this Conanda Resolution, it is not just revoking an administrative act, it is tearing up a civilizational pact to protect children since the Child and Adolescent Statute. It is saying that a girl victim of rape aged 9, 10, 11 has to be taken to the maternity ward at any cost. Forced pregnancy is torture”, he added.
