The right to abortion in the Brazilian legislative debate: the conservative offensive in the Chamber of Deputies

Abstract

The article analyzes the debate on the issue of abortion that occurred in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies between 1991 and 2014. We analyzed 915 speeches, with a mapping of sex and party parliamentarians, positions on abortion, and arguments mobilized to support them over the analysis period. The data show that there is a growing offensive of conservative members of Congress, mainly religious deputies, who have made the fight against abortion rights one of the most important political issues in their agenda, backing positions in favor of the decriminalization of abortion or, at least, the expansion of cases allowed by Brazilian law. Despite its connection to different churches, parliamentarians acting against the right to abortion have reduced, over time, the open appeal to religious arguments, which shows that the value of secularity has gained some weight in the debate. Among the supporters of the legalization of abortion, public health arguments take precedence over the arguments related to the empowerment of women.

abortion; democracy; gender; Chamber of Deputies; laicity