Monday, January 04, 2016

Microcephaly: Abortion, Yes.

While microcephaly occurrences increase shamefully in Brazil, “lawyers” have already shown up, insisting that abortion be kept forbidden, if the foetus is affected with such disease.
Brazilian criminal law is one of the most repressive in the world, similar to those of the most brutal theocracies concerning abortion:  it only allows pregnancies to be interrupted if “there is no other way” to save the  woman’s life or if pregnancy results of rape.
Brazilian Congress,  dominated by either religious fanatics, either ignorant chauvinists, vindicates  nowadays even more restrictions on abortion rights.
Concerning abortion  of anencephalic foetuses,  the controversy reached the Brazilian Supreme Court, which  ruled that abortion does not violate the right to life in such cases (ADPF 54).
Microcephaly is an incurable condition which results in either physical and mental disability, making the affected individual entirely dependent upon someone else’s care for his/her entire life.


To find oneself pregnant of a foetus with microencephaly is finding oneself pregnant of a child destined never to be independant or healthy.  Of a child bound to bring emotional and financial burden on the family, especially on the mother, limiting her ability to study, travel, enjoy professional success.  All this is perfectly evitable, provided that Science may be used on behalf of the mother and the family:  if a women is allowed to chose whether to interrupt pregnancy, whether not.

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