Public debates over abortion: the Brazilian supreme court public hearings on the ADPF 442 in 2018

Abstract

This article analyses abortion as the subject of much debate during the public hearings held by the (STF) Brazilian Supreme Court in 2018, in the context of the ADFP 442 trial. Such unprecedented institutional meeting was designed to bring together a broad spectrum of Brazilian and international organizations. Supported by feminist epistemologies, this work focuses on jurisprudence as well as religious arguments presented by the debating teams, such as public health, women’s autonomy and rights, religious and secular matters. Apart from the binary discourse, a number of legal and religious arguments expressing new conservative political alliances, in which ban on abortion is a central issue, are clearly noticed. Scientific and empirical data are presented as proof of the impact of abortion banning in Brazil, affecting mainly socially vulnerable women, black or indigenous ones, as well as those residentes in the north and northeast parts of the country. It is also shown in this work that performing abortions is a recurrent practice in Brazil. In general, the subjects are young women under 40, mothers, and some identified with religious denominations. The adopted methodology is the qualitative and comparative analysis of the manifestations. Videos available on the Supreme Court YouTube channel are the primary source, as well as documents and material produced for the hearings.