“No One Wants to Go to the Hospital” – Moral Grammars and Abortion Networks among Women in Brazil

Abstract

This text aims to understand moral grammars through abortion networks built by and between women in the Brazilian context. Our aim is to understand how the organization between these social actors is architected through the omissions of the State and the insufficiencies of public policies. To do this, we carried out empirical research in networks (on and offline), looking at the influx of information on social media platforms and websites, analyzing leaflets and information materials, as well as conducting interviews with activists working with women who want an abortion. We noticed that networks led by women reconfigure moral grammars around the notion of victim, as well as highlighting a porous border between legality and clandestinity, since activists occupy gaps concerning legal abortions, education in reproductive health and legal security, and the promotion of non-vulnerable gender relations.