Depenalization of Abortion in Brazil: The Church is Not There

Some pro-abortion organizations and newspapers have tried to influence public opinion in Brazil, by inflating the numbers of induced abortions performed each year in the country.

The denunciation was voiced by Bishop João Bosco Barbosa Sousa, head of the Commission for Life and Family of the Brazilian Bishops’ Conference, in an article diffused to the press these days, as the proposal to decriminalize the voluntary interruption of pregnancy is being discussed.

Among the points refuted—numbers in hand—by the head of the Episcopal Commission for Life and Family, according to the report of a newspaper article dated 29 June that cites a report of the Ministry of Health obtained in exclusivity, it is estimated that there are 1.200 thousand abortions a year in Brazil.

In light of some simple calculations, Bishop Sousa criticizes the news with the inflated data spread by IPAS, an organization that promotes abortion internationally, and by the Allan Guttmacher Institute, member of the IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation).