Equality-based arguments for the decriminalization of abortion in Brazil: towards new legal opportunities
| Autor | Taís Sofia Cunha de Barros Penteado |
| Cargo | Mestranda em Direito e Desenvolvimento na FGV Direito SP (São Paulo-SP, Brasil), na linha Instituições do Estado Democrático de Direito |
| Páginas | 451-472 |
Licenciado sob uma Licença Creative Commons
Licensed under Creative Commons
Rev. Investig. Const., Curitiba, vol. 7, n. 2, p. 451-472, maio/ago. 2020.
Equality-based arguments for the decriminalization of
abortion in Brazil: towards new legal opportunities*
Argumentos na chave da igualdade para a descriminalização
do aborto no Brasil: rumo a novas oportunidades legais
TAÍS SOFIA CUNHA DE BARROS PENTEADO I, **
I Fundação Getúlio Vargas – FGV/SP (São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil)
tais.penteado@gmail.br
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0329-3681
Recebido/Received: 25.10.2019 / October 25th, 2019
Aprovado/Approved: 29.10.2020 / October 29th, 2020
Revista de Investigações Constitucionais
ISSN 2359-5639
DOI: 10.5380/rinc.v7i2.69881
451
Como citar esse artigo/How to cite this article: PENTEADO, Taís Soa Cunha de Barros. Equality-based arguments for the decri-
minalization of abortion in Brazil: towards new legal opportunities. Revista de Investigações Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 7,
n. 2, p. 451-472, maio/ago. 2020. DOI: 10.5380/rinc.v7i2.69881.
* This paper was produced with the support of grant #2019/07715-1, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). Many thanks
to the gentle and constructive comments provided by Camila Gianella, Marta Machado and other colleagues that participated
in the group discussion during the LawTransform PhD Course that took place in Bergen, Norway, in August 2019. I had the
pleasure to attend this program lead by Siri Gloppen and Camila Gianella and coordinated by Lara Côrtes, both from Chr.
Michelsen Institute – CMI, as part of the International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research (INTPART) programme
to which FGV Law School of São Paulo is a partner institution. Also, many thanks to Professor Dimitri Dimoulis, for his usual
careful and sharp reading.
** Mestranda em Direito e Desenvolvimento na FGV Direito SP (São Paulo-SP, Brasil), na linha Instituições do Estado Democrático
de Direito. E-mail: tais.penteado@gmail.br.
Abstract
This article aims to contribute to the abortion debate in
Brazil, by looking deeply at how the equality principle is
being mobilized by pro-decriminalization actors in the
specic context of ADPF 442, the lawsuit in which the
constitutionality of the abortion restriction up to the
12th week is challenged before the Brazilian Supreme
Court. We map and classify the dierent formulations
of equality arguments presented by the claimant and
other relevant actors. We then discuss one of the for-
mulations – the formulation that characterizes abortion
as a means of group subordination - in light of the legal
opportunity structure available in Brazil. We argue that
while this argument faces a challenge posed by the
Resumo
Este artigo tem o objetivo contribuir para o debate sobre
o aborto no Brasil, analisando profundamente como o
princípio da igualdade está sendo mobilizado por atores
pró-descriminalização no contexto especíco da ADPF 442,
processo em que a restrição do aborto até 12ª semana é
contestada perante o Supremo Tribunal Federal. Mapea-
mos e classicamos as diferentes formulações de argumen-
tos de igualdade apresentadas pelo reclamante e outros
atores relevantes. Discutimos então uma das formulações
- a formulação que caracteriza o aborto como um meca-
nismo de subordinação de grupo - à luz da estrutura de
oportunidades legais disponíveis no Brasil. Argumentamos
que, embora esse argumento enfrente um desao colocado
TAÍS SOFIA CUNHA DE BARROS PENTEADO
Rev. Investig. Const., Curitiba, vol. 7, n. 2, p. 451-472, maio/ago. 2020.
452
CONTENTS
1. Introduction; 2. Equality-based arguments in the context of ADPF 442; 2.1.Discriminatory treatment
between women from dierent backgrounds; 2.2.Discriminatory treatment between men and women;
2.3. Equality as anti-subordination; 3. Idea of equality as anti-subordination without translation into
rights discourse; 4. Equality as anti-subordination: limits and potentials; 4.1. The need for a broader
formulation of the equality principle; 4.2. The anti-subordination formulation: towards a new window
for action; 5. Conclusions; 6. References.
1. INTRODUCTION
The ght for the decriminalization of abortion has been in motion in Brazil sin-
ce 1970s1, and, since then, pro-choice feminist movements have adopted a myriad of
strategies, at rst in the legislative and executive arenas and later in the judicial arena,
to press this agenda2. The drafting of the new Brazilian Constitution in 1988 was a tur-
ning point for social movements, as it provided them with the possibility of framing
the abortion issue as a matter of constitutional rights and, therefore, of constructing
dierent narratives of injustice3.
This new rights-based approach has been a constant in all state’s arenas debates
about abortion, however, since 2003, due to shifts in political opportunities, the battle
over abortion rights in the judicial arena has prevailed4.
The rst important move was the proposal Argument of Non-Compliance
with Fundamental Precept No. 54 (“ADPF 54”) before the Brazilian Supreme Court, a
1
BARSTED, Leila de Andrade Linhares. Legalização e descriminalização do aborto no Brasil: 10 anos de luta
feminista. Revista Estudos Feministas. Florianópolis, vol. 0, n. 0, p. 104-130, Jan. 1, 1992.
2 MACHADO, Marta; MACIEL, Debora. The Battle Over Abortion Rights in Brazil’s State Arenas, 1995-2006.
Health and Human Rights Journal. Boston, vol. 19, n. 1, Jun. 2, 2017. Available at:
org/2017/06/the-battle-over-abortion-rights-in-brazils-state-arenas-1995-2006/>. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2019.
3
MACHADO, Marta Rodriguez de Assis; COOK, Rebecca J. Constitutionalizing abortion in Brazil. Revista de
Investigações Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 5, n. 3, p. 185-231, set./dez. 2018. Available at:
ufpr.br/rinc/article/view/60973/37524>. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2019.
4
MACHADO, Marta; MACIEL, Debora. The Battle Over Abortion Rights in Brazil’s State Arenas, 1995-2006.
Health and Human Rights Journal. Boston, vol. 19, n. 1, Jun. 2, 2017. Available at:
org/2017/06/the-battle-over-abortion-rights-in-brazils-state-arenas-1995-2006/>. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2019.
narrow formulations of the equality principle in general
in Brazil, it also opens up a new window for arguing, for
being close in formulation to an important equality case
ruled by the Supreme Court – ADPF 186, an armative
action case.
Keywords: abortion; equality-based arguments; an-
ti-subordination; ADPF 442; ADPF 186.
pelas formulações restritas do princípio da igualdade que
prevalecem no Brasil, ele também abre uma nova janela de
oportunidade para argumentar, por ser próximo da formu-
lação de igualdade utilizada pelo Supremo Tribunal Federal
na ADPF 186, que envolve cotas raciais para universidades.
Palavras-chave: aborto; argumentos na chave da igualda-
de; anti-subordinação; ADPF 442; ADPF 186.
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