A woman carrying a pregnancy resulting from rape and having an abortion after the 22nd week could face a harsher penalty than her rapist. This is what will happen if PL 1904, which is urgently being processed in the Chamber of Deputies, is approved. The project aims to set a 22-week limit for terminating pregnancies where there is fetal viability, opening room to include cases where abortion is authorized, such as rape, risk to the mother's life, and fetal anencephaly, increasing the penalty for those who perform the procedure after the period.
The proposal's goal is to equate the punishment for abortion to the imprisonment provided for in the case of simple homicide. Thus, the woman who undergoes the procedure, if convicted, will serve a sentence of 6 to 20 years in prison. The penalty for rape in Brazil is 6 to 10 years. When there is bodily injury, it is 8 to 12 years. Only in case of the victim's death can the penalty be higher. The Penal Code provides for imprisonment of 12 to 30 years.
The merit of the bill is still to be voted on in the Chamber and needs to be approved in the Senate, in addition to being sanctioned by President Lula (PT). The proposal will amend articles 124, 125, and 126 of the Penal Code and limit the exclusion of punishment for doctors who perform the procedure provided for in article 128. The penalty change would only apply to acts committed after approval, with no retroactive effect. Criminal law experts consulted by Folha say the project provides for unconstitutional changes.