Thousands protest bill tightening abortion ban
From DW.com: Thousands of Brazilian women protested on Saturday against a bill that would tighten Brazil's ban on abortion. Under the bill, abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy would be considered homicide. In Brazil, abortion is currently only allowed in cases of rape, fetal deformation or when the mother's life is in danger. Otherwise, the practice is punishable by between one and three years in jail. The bill advancing in the country's Congress would establish sentences of six to 20 years for abortions carried out after 22 weeks of gestation. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who belongs to the left-wing Workers' Party (PT), called the bill "insane." "It is insane to want to punish a woman with a greater penalty than the criminal who committed the rape," Lula said at a press conference at the G7 summit in Italy.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Sao Paulo and other Brazilian cities to protest a bill that would further curtail abortion© Ettore Chiereguini/AP Photo/picture alliance.