We conquer the right to decide: the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy is law
After almost 12 hours of session, with 38 votes in favor, 29 votes against, 1 abstentions and 4 absent senators, the Senate approved the Law of Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy. The Campaign for Legal, Safe and Free Abortion, after 15 years of struggle, celebrated the historic day at the end of the vigil at the gates of Congress and in public spaces throughout the country.
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In the early hours of the morning, this Wednesday, December 30, the presentations by senators and senators ended and the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy law was called to vote. The bill already had the half-approval of the Chamber of Deputies, who approved it with 131 votes, against 117 negative votes and 6 abstentions.
A law to decide what lives we want to live
The law establishes the right of women and people with other gender identities with the capacity to gestate to decide the interruption of pregnancy, request and access abortion care, and receive post-abortion care in the health system services.
Free access is foreseen until week 14 of gestation. Outside this period, access can only be made in the event of rape or if the life or integral health of the pregnant person is in danger (that is, the causes that are already recognized in our legal system through Art. 86 of the Penal Code , with the interpretation made by the Supreme Court in the FAL ruling).
15 years of a huge federal struggle
With a presence in more than 120 cities and towns throughout the country, simultaneously, the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion participated in this historic day. By raising their green handkerchiefs high, symbol of the struggle for the right to decide throughout the world, they were finally able to celebrate having conquered the law, which is the product of the struggle of thousands and thousands for more than 15 years.
This triumph will inspire us to continue expanding rights in each space we inhabit. And not to give up. We know that the conquest of the law is only the first step. We will continue working for its effective application and the guarantee that all pregnant people can decide which lives to live.
