The Brazilian Supreme Court decision on abortion of fetuses with anencephaly: a feminist discourse analysis

Abstract

This paper analyzes the agreed decision of the Brazilian Supreme Court in the judgment of the Action for Breach of a Fundamental Precept number 54 (ADPF 54), which sought to resolve the controversy about the possibility of voluntary termination of pregnancy in the case of fetuses with anencephaly. By employing a Feminist Discourse approach, the analysis demonstrates the paradoxical way in which the Court granted a feminist demand claimed by women’s rights movements: (1) by masking the involvement with these groups and their discourses on women’s autonomy in relation to their bodies; 2) by maintaining the traditionalist and androcentric pattern of legal discourse. The analysis describes three main language artifices that stand out in the articulation of this paradox: explanation, naming and representation. The paper points out the persistence in the field of Law of traditional and androcentric paradigms that Justice values and with which it operates. This study aims to contribute to the debate on the decriminalization of abortion in Brazil, as well as to discuss the relationship between language / gender / law.