Legislators in Brazil have passed an amendment to their budget aimed at banning taxpayer funding of abortion, but the president is expected to veto the legislation.
ACI Digital reported that the National Congress of Brazil added an amendment to the Budgetary Guidelines Law (LDO) for 2024, mandating that the government cannot promote, encourage, or finance abortions with taxpayer money, except in cases already permitted under Brazilian law. Currently, abortion is only allowed to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.
The amendment was introduced by Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, who said he wanted to prevent “attacks on the family,” and it passed both houses of Congress easily, garnering a vote of 305-141 in the House and 43-26 in the Senate. Bolsonaro is the son of former pro-life president Jair Bolsonaro.
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“[T]his is what the majority of the population thinks today,” he said. “You cannot imagine that you will pay taxes and then sponsor unlawful acquisition of Indigenous lands, abortions, or sex changes for children.”
Yet President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to veto the amendment, saying it is not part of the LDO’s “sphere of responsibility.” He has previously said that, while he is personally against abortion, he believes it should be legalized. “Here in Brazil, they don’t do it (abortion) because it is forbidden, when in fact it should be turned into a public health issue, and everyone should have the right and not be ashamed,” he said. “I don’t want to have a child, I will take care of not having my child, I will discuss it with my partner. What doesn’t work is the law demanding that she has to take care of it.”
Comparatively, his predecessor — Jair Bolsonaro — was a staunch pro-life advocate, and, even as other Latin American countries legalized abortion, Bolsonaro vowed to continue fighting for life.
“As far as it depends on me and my government, abortion will never be approved on our soil,” he said in 2021. “We will always fight to protect the lives of the innocent!”
The Brazilian Foreign Affairs Ministry also announced this year it would withdraw from the Geneva Consensus, which declared that abortion is not an international right. The Supreme Court in Brazil also announced earlier this year its intention to decide on decriminalizing abortion through 12 weeks of pregnancy; however, the court recently postponed its potential decision.
