Brazilian conservatives see overturning Roe as their cue to act

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, removing American women’s constitutional right to abortion, members of the Brazilian House who support President Jair Bolsonaro have presented a slew of proposals to toughen abortion restrictions in their own country.

A total of 32 bills regarding abortion law have been submitted in the current legislature, which began in 2019. Over one-third of them have been filed since news website Politico published a draft opinion outlining the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The final report, written by Justice Samuel Alito and published on June 24, had echoes of the draft.

These bills try to increase penalties on women who have abortions or even reduce the circumstances in which a legal abortion can take place. 

In Brazil, pregnancies can be terminated in cases of rape, when the mother’s life is in danger, or when the fetus suffers from anencephaly (a type of neural tube defect that causes babies to be born without parts of the brain and skull). Terminations outside of these bounds can carry prison sentences of three to six years.

One of the bills trying to restrict the possibility of legal abortions was submitted by Congresswoman Carla Zambelli — one of Mr. Bolsonaro’s staunchest supporters in the House. Her proposal goes as far as creating a new...