Abstract:
Abortion due to anencephaly became a public issue from the 1990s onwards, especially due to advances in fetal medicine, as well as the lack of viable therapies to reverse the clinical condition. In this scenario, the Claim of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precepts (ADPF) No. 54 of 2004, an action filed in the Federal Supreme Court (STF), aimed to request the right to abortion in these cases. Between 2004 and 2012, ADPF nº 54 went through the process of assessment, deliberation, and decision by the Federal Supreme Court, in order to recognize the right of pregnant women to terminate the pregnancy of anencephalic fetuses. The objective of this article is to analyze the way in which abortion due to anencephaly had repercussions in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. To this end, as a research methodology, the article used content analysis of the statements made by federal deputies, between the years 2004 and 2013. The question that guided the writing was: “what are the positions and arguments mobilized by parliamentarians to pronounce on abortion due to anencephaly?” The results point to the prominence of regressive positions in comparison to those in favor of expanding the right to abortion in this circumstance, as well as the constitution of an argumentative basis based on irreducible premises regarding the right to life from conception, based on religious, conspiratorial premises and denialists regarding science.
Keywords:
anencephaly; abortion; House of Representatives; speeches; Brazil
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