RODRIGUES, M. A. F.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0423643439550080; RODRIGUES, Maria Adriana Farias.
Resumo:
The Sexual and Reproductive Rights of women were built from feminist struggles, which
claimed self-determination of women's bodies. Historically, the realization of these rights has
been hindered by the strong influence of various religious denominations derived from the
Christian tradition. The present text intends to approach the production of discourses by the
Evangelical Parliamentary Front of the National Congress (FPE) regarding Women's Sexual
and Reproductive Rights. Through these discourses we will visualize the social representations
that are constructed around reproductive and sexual functions. The first chapter is subdivided
into two moments. The first moment has the purpose of describing the historical path of
consolidation of Women's Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Western culture, and with greater
emphasis in Brazil. We then present the most relevant discussions held about these rights, which
aim to guarantee women's integral health. In the same way we register the difficulties in the
construction of the debates during the military dictatorship and the influence of religion in this
process. The second moment of the first chapter brings a theoretical discussion about the Theory
of Social Representations based on readings by Serge Moscovici and Jodelet. In the second
chapter, a survey is carried out on Bills of Law (PL), Legislative Decree Bill (PDL) and
Proposal of Amendment to the Constitution (PEC), proposed by deputies and senators of the
FPE and two other fronts, the Parliamentary Mixed Front Against Abortion and in Defense of
Life and the Parliamentary Front in Defense of Life and Family. We verified three central
categories into which the analyzed documents can be divided: the abortionist perspective
(proposals that are against abortion and try to prohibit it under any circumstances or make
access to legal abortion more difficult), the eugenicist approach (proposals for compulsory
sterilization of the poorest population by making sterilization more flexible) and the denialist
and conspiratorial proposals (which deny scientific evidence based on false perceptions, claim
that some contraceptive methods are abortifacients, and bring conspiratorial elements of world
population decrease). These three categories show the strong biopolitical control exercised on
these bills and amendments by evangelical deputies and senators. The methodology used is
qualitative, the techniques used are: documental survey of the legislative proposals based on
official data from the House of Representatives and structured interviews with women from
civil society. With the help of Maxqda software we analyze the data collected in the interviews.
According to the previous results achieved, we observed that the FPE has carried out an insistent
political and religious activism on the reproductive and sexual functions of women, presenting
a strong biopolitical control by the state. The women interviewed also perceived that parts of
these proposals by the Evangelical parliamentarians present actions that can be considered
illegitimate and violent. The approached theme is pertinent, since it dialogues with studies on
religion and politics, bringing up the Sexual and Reproductive Rights of women, as measures
for the consolidation of Human Rights. We believe that our study can contribute to the debates
around the categories of gender and sexuality, bringing reflections on political activism and
state control over female bodies.