Public hearing on decriminalization of abortion in Brazil

Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A public hearing to discuss the decriminalization of abortion in Latin America's biggest country will be held Friday at Brazil's Supreme Court.

More than 40 jurists, health specialists and representatives of universities and religious organizations will present their cases for and against the decriminalization of abortion.

A second public hearing is scheduled for Monday, August 6.

Abortion in Brazil is only legal in three cases: when a woman's life is in danger, if a woman has been raped, or when a fetus has anencephaly, a malformation of the brain. Women and girls who have abortion under any other circumstances face up to three years in prison.

The hearings were scheduled due to a case challenging the criminalization of abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.