Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), decided this Friday (17) that nurses and nursing technicians can assist in carrying out abortions that are provided for by lawsuch as cases of rape, risk to the health of pregnant women and anencephalic fetuses.
THE minister also guaranteed that professionals cannot be punished.
The decisions were made in two actions filed by entities that highlighted the precariousness of public health in the assistance of women seeking legal abortions in public hospitals.
With the decision, Barroso understood that nurses and nursing technicians can act in the termination of pregnancy. For the minister, the action must be compatible with the level of professional training in relation to cases of medical abortion in the early stages of pregnancy.
To ensure that professionals are not punished, the minister extended the application of Article 128, of the Penal Code, to nurses and technicians. The text says that doctors cannot be punished in the case of abortion to save the pregnant woman’s life and rape.
“In the present case, it was not possible for the legislator of the 1940s to foresee that technology would evolve to the point where the termination of pregnancy could be carried out safely by professionals who are not doctors. However, the anachronism of criminal legislation cannot be allowed to prevent the protection of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution”, explained Barroso.
The minister also determined the suspension of criminal and administrative proceedings opened against nurses and the prohibition of creating obstacles to legal abortion.
The minister’s decision is valid, but will need to be endorsed by the Court’s plenary.
Earlier, Barroso also voted to decriminalize abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy.
The votes represented the minister’s latest positions in the Supreme Court. Starting this Saturday (18), Barroso will leave the Court after announcing his early retirement from the position.
