Even as the U.S. Supreme Court was preparing to hand down its historic Dobbs decision on abortion law, Brazil was wrestling with a controversy revolving around an 11-year-old girl who was raped by a 13-year-old boy and sought an abortion.
A judge denied her request, claiming her pregnancy had gone beyond Brazil’s legal limits on the procedure. The girl went on to have the abortion, while the judge faces possible censure for allegedly misinterpreting the law.
The girl was ten years old when she was allegedly assaulted this year. A criminal investigation is ongoing, with DNA evidence currently under analysis to determine if the 13-year-old accused of the crime was the perpetrator.
According to her family, the victim did not realize she was pregnant until a little over 22 weeks into her pregnancy. She was taken to a hospital where she requested an abortion, but doctors declined her request because the rules of the hospital forbid abortions after 20 weeks. Abortion is broadly illegal in Brazil except for cases of rape and danger to the life of the mother.
The girl’s family sought a court order, and the case was brought before Judge Joana Ribeiro Zimmer, who sided with the doctors. The family’s legal counsel argued that while the Brazilian Health Ministry recommends a limit of no more than 22 weeks of gestation for abortions, the law does not actually impose such a limitation on rape cases.
Several legal groups and human rights organizations filed complaints against Judge Zimmer with the National Council of Justice, the Brazilian judicial watchdog agency. In addition to accusing her of misrepresenting the law, the complaints criticized her for patronizing the rape victim during a videotaped May 9 court hearing, referring to the alleged rapist as the “father of the baby,” advising the victim to “hold on a little more” to give birth, and suggesting she choose a name for the child.
On Thursday, the pregnant girl was given the abortion she requested at the hospital which originally denied her. The hospital was advised by Brazil’s Federal Public Ministry (MPF), with regrets for “the sad situation that has occurred,” that there was no legal limit on the time frame for rape abortions. The girl was 29 weeks pregnant at the time the abortion was eventually performed.
The case prompted commentary from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday. Bolsonaro described the case as a “tragedy” in which both the girl and her baby were “victims, innocent souls, lives that should not pay for what they are not guilty of.”
Bolsonaro said the girl and her unborn child should have been “protected from the environment they live in, from the pain of trauma, and from the vicious harassment of pro-abortion groups.”
“We know this is a sensitive case, but taking an innocent life, in addition to violating the fundamental rights of every human being, does not heal wounds or do justice to anyone. On the contrary, abortion only exacerbates this tragedy! There will always be other ways!” he argued.
The Brazilian president concluded by posting a photo of a 25-week-old child and noting the baby who was “the biggest victim of this tragedy” was four weeks older when aborted.
– Abaixo, a foto de uma criança com 25 semanas. O bebê, que é mais vítima dessa tragédia, tinha 29. pic.twitter.com/JpPgrxofAe
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) June 24, 2022
Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo, a Brazilian legislator, was also opposed to the abortion.
“You should bear in mind the first ones to stop this abortion were in a medical team. Respect science,” he urged.
Abortion in heavily Catholic and evangelical Brazil is an issue during Bolsonaro’s re-election campaign, where he is currently running far behind left-wing former President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva.
Lula said in April that “everyone” should have the right to an abortion, without being “ashamed” of what he described as a routine medical procedure. He walked back these remarks somewhat after a backlash from social conservatives by claiming he is personally opposed to abortion.
“For him, to abort a child or remove a tooth is the same thing,” Bolsonaro said of Lula’s position.
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