Justice asks CFM for explanations on resolution that prevents abortion after 22 weeks

The Federal Court of Porto Alegre published this Monday (8) an injunction for the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) to comment, within 72 hours, on the resolution that prohibits the performance of fetal asystole – a procedure that causes death of babies in the mother’s womb with the use of potassium chloride applied to the heart – to carry out abortion. The technique is performed after 22 weeks of gestation in cases of rape.

The request was published by judge Paula Weber Rosito, from the 8th Federal Court of Porto Alegre (RS), based on an action filed this Monday (8) by the Federal Public Ministry. The action is signed by attorneys from São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Bahia, the Brazilian Society of Bioethics and the Brazilian Center for Health Studies.

In the action, published by Newspaperthe entities point out that the rule generated “legal instability”, in addition to “delaying the performance” of what they call “legal abortion”.

“By imposing restrictions that limit the autonomy of doctors and their duty to apply the most current and beneficial scientific knowledge to the treatment and care of girls and women who undergo legal abortion, the CFM goes beyond its regulatory prerogatives and violates ethical precepts. legal guidelines that guide medical practice”, declare the entities.

In Brazil, abortion is a crime and is not punished in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape, risk of death for the mother, or when the baby is diagnosed with anencephaly.

Last Friday (5), the MPF gave the CFM five days to explain the resolution. In a note, the body informed that it wants to know the technical and legal basis used by the CFM to prepare the standard.

The text of the resolution highlights articles from the Federal Constitution, the Penal Code and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which reinforce the “inviolable right to life” and “that no one will be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment”.

An excerpt from the American Convention on Human Rights is also cited, which states that “a person is every human being, and every person has the right to have their life respected, a right that must be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception. No one can be arbitrarily deprived of their life.”