SÃO PAULO — Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of São Paulo on Saturday as protests swept across Brazil in opposition to a bill that would further criminalize abortions. If passed, the law would equate the termination of a pregnancy after 22 weeks with homicide.

The bill, proposed by conservative lawmakers and heading for a vote in the lower house, would also apply in cases of rape. Critics argue that those who seek an abortion so late are often child rape victims, as their pregnancies tend to be detected later due to lack of awareness or access to medical care.

To rally opposition, rights groups launched the 'A child is not a mother' campaign, which has flooded social media platforms. Placards, stickers, and banners emblazoned with the slogan were prominent during demonstrations. Viral visuals depicting women in red cloaks draw comparisons between Brazil and Gilead, the theocratic patriarchy from Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Approximately 10,000 people, predominantly women, filled several blocks of São Paulo’s main boulevard on Saturday afternoon, according to organizers’ estimates. It was the largest demonstration yet, following similar events in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Florianopolis, Recife, Manaus, and other cities. Many protesters wore green clothes and scarves, a symbol commonly seen in women’s rights movements across Latin America.

Marli Gavioli, 65, who has rarely protested since the 1980s demonstrations calling for the end of the military dictatorship, felt compelled to join the march. “I couldn’t stay out of this, or I would regret it too much. We are being whipped from all sides, us women. It’s past time we do something,” she said.

Currently, Brazil only permits abortion in cases of rape, when there is an evident risk to the mother’s life, or if the fetus has no functioning brain. Outside of these exceptions, Brazil’s penal code imposes one to three years of jail time for women who end a pregnancy. Consequently, some Brazilian women travel abroad to obtain abortions.

Should the bill become law, the sentence would rise to between six and 20 years for abortions performed after 22 weeks. Critics have highlighted that convicted rapists could receive lesser sentences than their victims under the proposed legislation.

Experts assert that late access to abortion reflects inequalities in healthcare, disproportionately affecting children, poor women, Black women, and those living in rural areas. “We cannot be sentenced to prison for having suffered a rape and not receiving support and care,” said Talita Rodrigues, a member of the rights group National Front Against the Criminalization of Women and for the Legalization of Abortion.

A 2023 study by the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety revealed that of the 74,930 people who were victims of rape in Brazil in 2022, 61.4% were under 14 years old. “For children, it is common for a pregnancy to be discovered only after 22 weeks,” said Ivanilda Figueiredo, a professor of law at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. Young girls, often unaware of the signs of pregnancy, might not recognize the absence of menstrual periods as a symptom.

Graziela Souza, a 25-year-old student and survivor of childhood sexual assault, was among the protesters in downtown Rio on Thursday. “I think it’s very important for victims to be present, as much as it hurts,” Souza said. “We must speak out and fight against it because if we stay at home we are going to lose.”

Defenders of the bill argue that abortions at a later stage were unimaginable when Brazil’s penal code was adopted in 1940, and had it been considered, it would be classified as infanticide.

The bill’s author, lawmaker, and Evangelical pastor Sóstenes Cavalcante, declined an interview request from the AP. On Wednesday, the lower house Speaker Arthur Lira expedited the bill in under 30 seconds, bypassing the usual committee procedures. This maneuver allows the plenary to vote on the bill without it first clearing committees. Lira has been a primary target of the protesters’ ire, with signs reading “What if it happened to your daughter, Lira?” and “Lira out.”

Conservative lawmakers proposing the bill, dubbed ‘the rape caucus’ by protesters, are seen as playing politics, aiming to boost support from Evangelical voters in the upcoming municipal elections in October. “The bill puts progressive people in a very difficult situation because they lose votes by defending abortion rights,” said Figueiredo, the law professor.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government has been courting Evangelicals, a key voting bloc for far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. Lula narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the 2022 presidential election. Cavalcante has challenged Lula to veto the bill, stating, “The president sent a letter to Evangelicals in the campaign saying he was against abortion. We want to see if he will veto it. Let’s test Lula.”

First lady Rosângela da Silva, known as Janja, criticized the proposal on social media, emphasizing the need to protect women and girls who are victims of rape rather than revictimizing them. Lula also addressed the issue during a G7 conference in Italy, stating, “I’m against abortion. However, since abortion is a reality, we need to treat it as a public health issue. And I think it’s insanity that someone wants to punish a woman with a sentence that’s longer than the criminal who committed the rape.”

While strict abortion laws have long been prevalent across the predominantly Roman Catholic region of Latin America, feminist movements have gained momentum in recent years. Colombia’s Supreme Court decriminalized abortion in 2022, following similar rulings in Mexico and Argentina. Chile also rolled back a strict ban a few years earlier.

In the U.S., the Supreme Court recently preserved access to a medication used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions last year, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade two years ago.

Last September, Brazil’s top court began a session on decriminalizing abortion. Former Chief Justice Rosa Weber, now retired, voted in favor, and Chief Justice Luís Roberto Barroso, who also supports decriminalization, has the authority to resume the vote.

“We are behind on this issue, and we need to fight for progress,” said Eduarda Isnoldo, a 27-year-old English teacher, through tears at the São Paulo protest. “When you realize that your rights can be taken away so easily, it’s impossible to stay quiet.”

The protest atmosphere was charged with a mix of anger and hope, as chants and speeches echoed through the city. Demonstrators highlighted personal stories and statistics, underscoring the human impact of restrictive abortion laws. The mobilization across multiple cities demonstrated the widespread public opposition to the bill, signaling a significant moment in Brazil’s ongoing struggle for women’s reproductive rights. The outcome of this legislative battle will undoubtedly have far-reaching implications, both within Brazil and across the broader Latin American region.