Overview

• The Human Rights Commission approved PL 2.524/2024 in a symbolic vote lasting under four minutes on Oct. 15, with no debate, and sent it to the Social Affairs Committee.
• The bill, authored by Senator Mecias de Jesus and reported by Senator Eduardo Girão, amends the Civil Code to guarantee birth after 22 weeks and requires early delivery with attempts to save the newborn when the pregnant person faces grave risk.
• Rape remains a ground for abortion only up to 22 weeks, after which the text directs early delivery with the option of adoption.
• For anencephaly, reporting and the text indicate no induced fetal death after 22 weeks, while pre‑22‑week cases are not explicitly authorized or barred, leaving legal ambiguity.
• Current law permits abortion in cases of rape, anencephaly, or life risk without a gestational limit, and the measure now proceeds to the Social Affairs Committee for substantive debate, alongside a separate bill to allow advertising of pregnancy support centers.