Dispatch From Our Luiz

concerning the unpleasantness in Recife, Brazil. Luiz is originally from that country, but now resides in the US.

From: Luiz Coelho
Date: March 13, 2009 3:29:11 AM EDT
To: Contributors Episcopal Cafe
Subject: Abortion case in Brazil - update

Hello everybody.

The recent reaction from a Roman Catholic archbishop to a legal abortion case in Brazil has been caused a lot of stir in the blogosphere and the [Episcopal] Café has published some updates on it. I have been following the case closely, both on Brazlian TV and newspapers, and I decided to write this message to clarify some points that, in my opinion, are not being faithfully transmitted by some International news agencies.

First of all, much has been said about abortion laws in Brazil, and most news sources in English have been saying that "Brazil forbids abortion in most cases except for rape." I don't know where that piece of information was obtained, but, actually, Brazil's abortion laws are seen by many scholars as a good balance of progressive thought and ethics. I have double checked this with one lawyer friend, but I can say that the law allows abortion under several possibilities, most notably:

- When the mother was raped and alleges that she cannot emotionally bear that pregnancy;
- When the mother is younger than the age of consent;
- When the fetus has few chances of surviving after birth;
- When the fetus has no brain;
- When the mother's life is in danger due to the pregnancy; and
- Under special permission of a judge (which has created jurisprudence in several specific cases initially not covered by the law)

For the most part, they forbid abortion only when the mother willfully had sexual relations without contraceptives and/or protection, is healthy, and bearing a healthy child. However, a recent ruling by the Supreme Court has decided that Emergency Contraception should not be considered abortion, and "morning after" pills (which actually work up to 5 days after the sexual act) are now distributed freely by the public health system. Recently, the Ministry of Health has started a TV Ad campaign promoting the idea and, due to this fact, most people know to a certain degree that such possibility is available. I can vouch for that, since I had a friend who went through this procedure (which is totally confidential, even for teenagers) some time ago, and successfully prevented a pregnancy. Regular contraceptives and condoms are also distributed freely by the public health system.

It is my general impression that most Brazilians find the current law desirable and humane, and that it basically covers most ethically acceptable possibilities of abortion. I can say that most people I know there are strongly against abortion "for the sake of abortion," especially given all the preventive possibilities offered. Given this scenario, I can tell that the public opinion is strongly against the Archbishop's decision, and the Roman Catholic Church is being heavily criticized for supporting him.

Brazil is a generally progressive society and probably the most liberal one in Latin America (I'd tend to say Argentina could be in this position but they have some issues with racism and anti-semitism that keep me in doubt). I would credit that to the true melting pot that we are (Brazil is in many terms as ethnically diverse as the US). The Brazilian legal system has usually been regarded as progressive-minded too. An interesting phenomenon is that religion (or, I should say, spirituality) still is very important to Brazilians and most people would have their religious practices and rituals even if they disagree with the hierarchy of churches.

Recife is probably the largest city in the Northeastern Region of Brazil, the only part of the country that was not heavily affected by 19th and 20th century immigration, and which has a majority of Afro-Brazilians, most of whom are descendants of many slaves who, sadly, were taken to Brazil (and mostly to the Northeast) to work in large tobacco, cotton and sugarcane plantations. It is also the poorest region of the country, but probably the most culturally
fascinating one. I don't find Northeasterners particularly much more conservative than people in the rest of the country, and the fact that both there were recent issues both with Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops there is probably a sad coincidence. Keep in mind that +Hélder Câmara was the previous archbishop of Olinda and Recife, and this man who is there now is one among many bishops appointed on purpose, to undo most of the work that Liberation Theology bishops had done in the country.

What we see going on in this particular abortion case is, unfortunately, an attempt by the Roman Church to hijack progressive laws by bringing the issue to the media and appealing to the large Catholic crowd that exists there. Sadly for them, most Catholics in Brazil are secular enough not to agree with the curia. They still say their Hail Marys, and go to Mass once in a while, but largely disapprove the Church's views on sexuality and abortion. The same thing happened a couple years ago, when the Supreme Court of Brazil issued a ruling that stated that same-sex partners who could prove their cohabitation status should be recognized as common-law marriages (which, in Brazil, have the same rights as regular marriages after 5 years of cohabitation). This measure de facto extended marriage rights to same-sex couples until the Congress decides to approve one of the many amendments to the Civil Code that were proposed. Bishops protested and tried to conclaim Catholics to a "holy war".

For the most part, they were ignored.


Luiz Coelho