The Constitution and Justice Committee of the Chamber of Deputies (CCJ) postponed again, this Wednesday (13), the vote on the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) nº 164/12which guarantees the inviolability of the right to life from conception, that is, prohibits legal abortion in Brazil.
Authored by former federal deputies Eduardo Cunha (RJ) and João Campos (GO), the PEC seeks to modify article 5 of the Federal Constitution.
In practice, by defining that the right to life must also be guaranteed to fetuses, without exception, the PEC prohibits abortion in the three situations currently authorized by Brazilian legislation: in cases of risk of death for the pregnant woman; when the pregnancy is the result of rape and when, through a medical report, fetal anencephaly is found, that is, the malformation of the fetal brain.
The analysis of the proposal was postponed due to requests for review presented by deputies from the progressive camp, who were against the proposal, and who claimed they needed more time to study the matter.
Even with the requests for review and the consequent postponement of the vote, the president of the CCJ, Caroline de Toni (PL-SC), authorized the PEC rapporteur at the collegiate, deputy Chris Tonietto (PL-RJ), to read her report, favorable to the proposal.
“We do not identify an affront to individual rights and guarantees”, stated Chris, adding that the change in the constitutional text is not incompatible with the fundamental principles and rules of the national legal system.
“We understand that there is no constitutional obstacle to regulating the processing of this proposal. We therefore conclude the vote towards the admissibility of the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution 164/2012”, argues the rapporteur.
Even before requests for a view interrupted the debate, federal deputy Chico Alencar (PSol-RJ), against the proposal, even defended that the matter be removed from the agenda.
“This proposed constitutional amendment reduces to dust what the legislation already guarantees,” he argued, stating that he had identified only 21 countries, most of them Central American and Asian, that prohibit abortion in any situation.
“Now, we therefore have around 180 countries that allow termination of pregnancy to preserve the health of the mother, save the life of the pregnant woman, as in Brazil, or for socioeconomic reasons, upon a mere request. Therefore, when thinking about approving this PEC, we are on the path of regression, of delay”, added the parliamentarian from Rio de Janeiro.
Federal deputy Luiz Gastão (PSD–CE) criticized the postponement of the vote. “Those who are advocating that we not discuss the matter are murdering children who have already been conceived and who have no one who can speak for them,” argued Gastão.
“If this issue is on the agenda it is because the Brazilian population wants to discuss it again. And he wants it to be discussed today. We should keep voting. And whoever is against it, should vote against the proposal and show society what they think”, defended the deputy from Ceará.
