Lula government authorizes “legal abortion” up to 9 months of pregnancy

If a nine-month pregnant woman claims she was raped and wants to have an abortion, she can do so, according to new guidance from the Ministry of Health published this Wednesday (28). The limitation for the procedure, which was previously 21 weeks and 6 days, no longer has this time limit, making it possible to carry out abortion, in cases where it is not punished in Brazil, up to 40 weeks of gestation. Abortion is a crime in Brazil, not punished in cases of rape and risk to the woman’s life (article 128 of the Penal Code) or when the baby suffers from anencephaly, according to a 2012 decision by the Federal Supreme Court.

The previous guidance followed international fetal viability standards, as it allows for a premature birth, without the need to kill the baby. However, the new technical note states that this milestone would be variable, as it would depend on individual factors such as available neonatal technologies and the health of the pregnant woman.

Furthermore, the guidance considers that “until birth, when the newborn is separated from the uterine environment, the fetus is most likely not capable of feeling pain”. But as the People’s Gazettea study called “Reconsidering fetal pain” published in 2020 in Journal of Medical Ethics points out that some type of pain can be felt from 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The text from the Ministry of Health, signed jointly by the Secretary of Primary Health Care, Felipe Proenço, and the Secretary of Specialized Health Care, Helvécio Miranda, justifies that art. 128 of the Penal Code does not define a time limit for carrying out abortions.

Abortion, according to world literature, cited in several documents from the Federal Council of Medicine, is the interruption of pregnancy up to the 20th or 22nd week, or when the fetus weighs up to 500 grams or even, some consider it when the fetus measures up to 16.5cm. The concept is formulated based on fetal viability outside the uterus.

What is the abortion of a baby over seven months old?

At 30 weeks of gestation, all of the baby’s organs are already formed. He even has a developed sense of taste, can open and close his eyes, recognizes his mother’s voice and can hear her heartbeat.

In a video published by the pro-life NGO Live Action, American obstetrician Patti Giebink, who performed abortions and regretted it, gives details of what the abortion procedure is like when the fetus is six months old and older. The original video can be found at abortionprocedures.com or this YouTube link.

According to her, it all starts with a medication that causes the lining of the uterus to degenerate, depriving the fetus of vital nutrients and oxygen. Then, the child is injected with a drug that is used to treat heart problems, but in higher doses causes fetal cardiac arrest.

“A long needle is inserted through the woman’s abdomen or vagina,” says Patti. “For the drug to be more effective, the doctor can also inject digoxin directly into the fetus, targeting the body, heart, or umbilical vein. Potassium chloride can also be used to induce fetal death more immediately,” she adds.

The fetus usually dies within 24 hours of injecting the drug. Death is typically confirmed by ultrasound before labor begins.

On the second day of the procedure, according to the doctor, the woman receives misoprostol orally or vaginally, so that she goes into labor. When the fetus and placenta are expelled, and the bleeding is under control, the abortion is considered complete.

* Leonardo Desideri collaborated