ADPF 442
ADPF 442 is an ongoing case of the Supreme Court of Brazil concerning the decriminalization of abortion, in any circumstance, up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. As it stands, the Brazilian Penal Code prohibits abortion except in cases of rape and risk to the mother's life, and in the case of anencephalic fetuses.
A positive result in this case would bring Brazilian legislation closer to some of its Latin American neighbors, such as Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Guyana, Mexico and Uruguay.
Background
The case was brought before the Supreme Court by the Socialism and Liberty Party in March 2017, arguing that the current criminalization of abortion is unconstitutional. The party argues that the Constitution, from 1988, invalidaded what had been in the Penal Code since 1940 regarding abortion: when criminalizing it, the Penal Code can be seen to be effectively imposing a compulsory pregnancy, which would violate a few of the constitutionally protected rights. For example:- Art. 1st : the fundamental right to dignity;
- Art. 1st : the fundamental right to citizenship;
- Art. 3rd, Art. 5th: the right to gender equality and non-discrimination;
- Art. 6th, Art. 196: the right to freedom, to health, to physical and psychological integrity;
- Art. 226 : the right to family planning, safe from intervention by public or private entities.
PSOL requests that the Supreme Court invalidate prisons and lawsuits related to voluntary abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy; recognize the constitutional right of women to decide on the interruption of their own pregnancy; and guarantee legal protection to health professionals that perform the procedure.
Votes
Rosa Weber
Former Supreme Court minister Rosa Weber was due for mandatory retirement on 2 October 2023. As president, Weber brought the case for deliberation and, as rapporteur, cast the initial, 129-page vote on 22 September 2023 during a virtual session. Voting on the case was then suspended due to a request by minister Luís Roberto Barroso for an in-person vote. Weber voted in favor of the decriminalization of abortion up to 12 weeks.Weber went on to retire on 30 September 2023, leaving the presidency of the court to minister Barroso. Flávio Dino, Weber's successor to the court set to take office on 22 February 2024, will likely not be able to recast a vote in this case.
Luís Roberto Barroso
On 9 October 2025, minister Barroso announced his early retirement, due for 18 October. Barroso then rescinded his 2023 request for an in-person vote, which allowed for the case to be voted on remotely; and, on his last workday, the minister concurred with Weber's decision, stating the following:Barroso additionally highlighted that criminalization penalizes, above all, women and girls of lower classes, as opposed to those in the middle and upper classes, who have the opportunity to travel to Uruguay, Colombia or Europe for a legal abortion. Barroso went on to empathize with the religious argument, but justified his position by contrasting the Golden Rule with the violence of incarcerating women for this decision.
Following Barroso's vote, minister Gilmar Mendes requested an in-person vote, suspending voting on the case once again.