On January 13, 2011, a group of activists that advocate for human rights and gender equality in Brazil sent a manifesto signed by 6215 people to President Dilma Rousseff, the Minister of Justice, José Eduardo Cardozo, and Ministers Maria do Rosário and Iriny Lopes, who head the Special Secretary for Human Rights and the Secretary for Women’s Policies, respectively.
The document expresses repudiation regarding the way abortion was treated in the course of the 2010 election campaign. It was available on the Internet for signatures during October and was signed by thousands of Brazilians and more than seven hundred people from other nationalities.
Dilma Rousseff and candidate José Serra (PSDB), declared, at the end of the campaign that, if they won the elections, they would not propose any changes in the existing legislation on abortion. These positions reflected dogmatic religious forces’ strong pressure and influence on both campaigns.
>> Read the Manifesto
>> Check the lists of signatures from Brazilians and foreign people
>> Read the article Abortion and Human Rights: Will Brazil be the Next Nicaragua?, written by SPW’s Co-Chair Sonia Corrêa and published at RH Reality Check website. This article is an updated and expanded version of a paper originally published in the SPW’s Newsletter n.8.