Overview
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva compared men's resistance to prostate exams with women’s routine gynecological care during a campaign rally in Belém on Monday, Sept. 28.
- Opponents seized on a short, decontextualized clip of the remark and accused Lula of implying sexual conduct involving minors, with Senator Flávio Bolsonaro publicly condemning the comment.
- Lula’s campaign filed complaints at the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE), saying the comment referred to preventive health exams and was misrepresented by critics.
- TSE Minister Estela Aranha found deputy Nikolas Ferreira’s post shifted a public‑health remark into an association with crimes against children and ordered the post and any similar reposts removed within 24 hours.
- Medical guidance cited by reporters notes cervical‑cancer screening is offered to people with a cervix aged 25–64 who have had sexual activity and that invasive exams on adolescents depend on clinical indication and consent, while medical societies had not yet issued public positions on the doctor’s notification about the president’s phrasing.