Activists march against abortion in Brasília
Brasília - - Participants of the 9th National Citizen March for Life and Against Abortion walk to the National Congress
Activists and religious people from all over the country staged a march against abortion this Tuesday (Jun. 7), in Brasília. Exploring the theme: "I want to live! Will you help me?," the 9th National Citizen March for Life and Against Abortion called for the approval of the Unborn Child Act, under deliberation in Congress, which establishes the rights of unborn children and pregnant women.
Carrying banners and placards with messages against abortion, the group of about 1,500 people—according to military police—occupied the city's central area, asking for support for their demands. The Unborn Child Act is now under deliberation at the lower house's Committee on Constitution and Justice.
The bill establishes that human life begins at its conception. The project aims to extend the fetus' rights, like the rights to life, health, honor and dignity, physical integrity, and food, which are currently safeguarded only to already born children. Among other things, the bill hardens the law and hinders abortion choices even in rape cases.
A march participant, microentrepreneur Lili Terena, 48, said women who carry out abortion suffer psychological and physical traumas. "We will not impose our will on the woman's decision, we want the best for her and she often does not know it [what is best]," she argued.
Technical nursing Marilza Lima, 56, who came from Rio de Janeiro to protest, said she is "in favor of life and against the fetus suffering, regardless of the way of its conception. I will never understand the reason for a woman to do an abortion. Why doesn't she have the child and put them up for adoption? How many women cannot conceive a child and wait for adoption? If our country had a better law for adoption, I'm sure that many [women] would no longer abort" she commented.
Some men had also participated in the anti-abortion protest. "The movement is in the mother's defense, including victims of violence, for them to have social protection and dignity. My mother was abandoned by my father and she would have all the conditions to do an abortion but decided to preserve me. So I am here, in this fight," said seminarian Wesley Corrêa, 33 years.
Sixty children from a spiritualist institution also rallied carrying white balloons, representing unborn children as a result of abortions. For Kelly de Oliveira, 42, the institution's director, the act symbolized the defense for life. "It would be a dark spot in Brazil's history to legalize abortion. There is already a law which safeguards the mother in case of risk and this is not debatable. But it is important to defend life in every stage," she said.
Translated by Amarílis Anchieta
Fonte: Activists march against abortion in Brasília
