Sterilization of Mother of Eight in São Paulo Countryside under Investigation

06/12/2018 - 12h15

The sterilization of a mother of eight children from Mococa, in the countryside of São Paulo, is now under investigation and has led public agencies to exchange accusations.

Janaina Aparecida Quirino, 36, was arrested for drug trafficking back in November and had seven children when the prosecution filed a motion requesting that she undergo a sterilization procedure.

The procedure took place on February 14, following a ruling that was issued by a lower court after her eighth child was born.

The Public Defender's Office said that Ms. Quirino was not properly heard in the lawsuit and that illegal acts were committed. The procedure was also challenged by the local mayor's office and by a second instance Justice Tribunal. The judge who oversaw the case said that the mother consented.

The surgery was carried out based on a lawsuit filed in May 2017 by prosecutor Frederico Liserre Barruffini. The first instance ruling was issued by Judge Djalma Moreira Gomes Junior in October - a decision that led the mayor's office to file an appeal.

The higher court reversed the ruling in May and terminated the lawsuit, but it was too late: Ms. Quirino had already undergone the surgery three months earlier.

Judge Leonel Costa said that the law was broken, given that the "surgical sterilization of women during periods of labor or [after] abortions" is prohibited "except in cases where it is deemed absolutely necessary".

The Public Prosecutor's Office announced that a disciplinary complaint was filed to the Department of Corrections calling for an investigation into the episode. The Justice Tribunal said that the department will investigate the judge's conduct in the case, which was revealed by Folha de S.Paulo columnist Oscar Vilhena Vieira last Saturday (the 9th).

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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