Abortion and Parliament: a study on Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina

Abstract

This article consists of a comparative study among three countries, namely, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, concerning their legislations and the participation of many different actors regarding the decriminalization and/or legalization of abortion.This topic entered the public agenda of all three countries as part of their processes of democratization, which began in the 1980s. It also involved a number of other interventions, such as action by women’s movements and positions taken by physicians’ associations and other social actors during the 1990s and the first years of the 21st century. A number of interventions in the legislative sphere were studied (in the countries’ senates and chambers of deputies), as well as strategies for public policies implemented by the executive branches, monitored by women’s movements as they faced serious violations of human rights. The disrespect of such rights, consolidated in the constitutions of the three countries, especially affects women, who are the most vulnerable regarding rights to health and equality. In addition to inroads and setbacks during the period studied, the author also studied the importance of keeping the topic on the public agenda and in the media during the period mentioned above. The media played an important role both in promoting and de-legitimizing the right to abortion.