Brazil and Bolsonaro: The Changing Landscape of Reproductive Health
By: Michelle Kwan
Who is Jair Bolsonaro?
Jair Bolsonaro is Brazil’s president-elect who took office in January of 2019. As a corruption scandal swept Brazil during the previous presidency, Bolsonaro’s strict adherence to laws and his emphasis on justice resulted in a wave of popularity from a nation that radiated antiestablishment sentiment. Moreover, due to his right-wing and neoconservative views, Bolsonaro is known as the “Trump of the Tropics,” and he has also branded himself as a notorious misogynist and homophobe whose conservative comments appeal to an expanding group of evangelical voters in Brazil. [1]
How has Bolsonaro changed Brazil’s policies towards reproductive rights?
Previously, Brazil only allowed abortion in three scenarios: when the pregnancy is a result of a rape when it threatens the mother’s life, or when the fetus is anencephalic (a baby born with an undeveloped brain or skull). However, there have been 89 bills between 1989 and 2016 that were discussed in the National Congress regarding criminalizing abortion, demonstrating the already pervasive push towards anti-abortion laws in Brazil. [3]
With Bolsonaro’s evangelical platform, he has already instilled numerous changes to policy and social programs to curtail abortion practices and prevent abortion information dissemination.
First, in January 2019, he replaced the Special Secretariat for Women’s Policies and Special Secretariat for Human Rights, two Secretariats with ministry status, with the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights, which has lesser representation within the ministry and a larger focus on enforcing what Bolsonaro calls the “defense of the Brazilian family.” [3] He appointed Damares Alves, a female Evangelical pastor who has previously denounced abortion, to head the task force. During her position, Minister Alves has denounced a journalism site for reporting safe abortion methods directly cited from the WHO, with her reasoning being to limit the spread of “misinformation” surrounding abortions. Alves champions the idea to not “impose, but rather to inform, which strengthens autonomy.” [4] However, she has also said in December of 2018 that she wants Brazil “free of abortion,” exhibiting her ulterior anti-abortion stance. [5]
In addition to the ministry changes, Bolsonaro has also advocated for abstinence-only education, with measures such as an abstinence campaign led by Alves and the recall of a reproductive health pamphlet to remove figures of human anatomy. [4]
Moreover, Bolsonaro has tightened policies regarding the exception of abortion due to rape, requiring women to receive signatures from both a doctor and the police in reporting a rape. [6] First, this additional measure slows down and overcomplicates the process for receiving an abortion. Second, and even more important, this forced reporting to the authorities takes away doctor-patient confidentiality, damaging a woman’s autonomy and privacy.
What is the national response to these changes?
Prior to the 2018 election, tens of thousands of Brazilians formed the Ele Não, which is Portuguese for “Not Him,” movement to protest Bolsonaro’s candidacy due to his slew of misogynistic and homophobic comments. [7]
However, due to tightened restrictions and a neoconservative wave of stigma surrounding abortions, women have begun to travel to other countries for abortions, namely Argentina. As Argentina recently legalized abortions in December of 2020, women have been traveling to the nearby country in order to receive a safer abortion. However, Bolsonaro has publicly criticized this recent Argentinian law, indicating no signs of abortion reform in the future. [8]
In a more hopeful light, there have been recent projects in 2020 to push for reproductive health protection, ranging from medical assistance, protection zones for medical teams and families at abortion clinics, and more. [9]
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Wallenfeldt, J. (2021, March 17). Jair Bolsonaro. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jair-Bolsonaro
Elaine Reis Brandão & Cristiane da Silva Cabral (2019) Sexual and reproductive rights under attack: the advance of political and moral conservatism in Brazil, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 27:2, 76-86, DOI: 10.1080/26410397.2019.1669338
Londoño, Ernesto, and Letícia Casado. “Brazil Under Bolsonaro Has Message for Teenagers: Save Sex for Marriage.” The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2020, www-nytimes-com.proxy.lib.duke.edu/2020/01/26/world/americas/brazil-teen-pregnancy-Bolsonaro.html.
Vivanco, José Miguel. “Brazil's Human Rights Minister's Feigned Concern for Women.” Human Rights Watch, 28 Oct. 2020, www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/04/brazils-human-rights-ministers-feigned-concern-women#
Machado, Lia Zanotta. (2020). From the Time of Rights to the Time of Intolerance. The Neoconservative Movement and the Impact of the Bolsonaro Government. Challenges for Brazilian Anthropology. Vibrant: Virtual Brazilian Anthropology, 17, e17458. November 27, 2020.https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-43412020v17d458
“Jair Bolsonaro: Large Protests against Brazil Election Front-Runner.” BBC News, BBC, 30 Sept. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45696677.
Press, The Associated. “Brazilian Women Head to Argentina to Avoid Abortion Ban.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 7 Jan. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/brazilian-women-head-argentina-avoid-abortion-ban-n1253370.
Nephew, Wanderley Preite. “Câmara Tem 83% Mais Projetos Sobre Aborto Em 2020; Maioria Tenta Restringir.” Notícias, UOL, 14 Sept. 2020, noticias.uol.com.br/politica/ultimas-noticias/2020/09/14/projetos-de-lei-aborto-camara-dos-deputados.htm.