Feminist NGO guide tries to distort abortion news

A guide for journalists published by Portal Catarinas and the “Neither arrested nor dead” campaign tries to influence journalistic coverage of abortion based on fallacious arguments. Starting from the thesis that voluntary abortion cannot be considered as a “stigma”, the feminist NGO tries to convince journalists to positively address the murder of an unborn human being. The material also ignores biology and science by treating abortion as if it were a religious issue.

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“It is impressive how they want to guide the media, they talk about stigmas, but it seems that what they want is to stigmatize the journalist who does not take a stand for the liberation of abortion”, says Lenise Garcia, president of the Movimento Brasil Sem Aborto and doctor in Microbiology and Immunology.

The guide advises journalists to avoid images and videos that show the fetus or refer to mourning. The document also advises on being careful with sources (avoiding authorities) and suggests the use of “criminalization cases to build counter-narratives”.

“By placing an agent of criminalization – such as a police officer, police chief or prosecutor – under the spotlight, even while criticizing, we run the risk of leveraging conservatism. Exposing these people is not always worth it”, presents the guide.

“They suggest that the journalist talk to the victim. But the main victim has not learned to speak, and she is dead. This victim, the unborn child, is absolutely ignored throughout the entire text. Those who ignore science are those who deny the humanity of the unborn child”, says Lenise Garcia.

The material also gives examples of how journalists should handle reporting. Instead of writing the title “Police arrest woman who had home abortion”, for example, the indication is to write “After breach of medical confidentiality, patient is criminalized”.

The document also distorts facts such as that of the 11-year-old girl, victim of rape, from Santa Catarina, who aborted a 30-week-old baby. The material does not bring the concrete information of the story, which had a network of pro-abortion professionals who disseminated biased information about the case.

“The text guides, not to show the reality of abortion, but to hide it”, regrets Lenise Garcia.