Former Brazilian FM tells Upfront “Brazil should relax abortion laws for women infected with Zika Virus”

• Says Brazil should relax its abortion laws for women infected with the Zika virus: “It’s my personal opinion that the regulation should be relaxed”
• Suggests that changing abortion laws “requires an evolution from society”

 In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera English’s flagship current affairs show, ‘UpFront’, Brazil’s former foreign minister, and former defence minister, Celso Amorim, says he wants abortion laws relaxed for pregnant women infected with the Zika virus, which is believed to be linked to birth defects.

“It’s my personal opinion that the regulation should be relaxed,” Amorim told ‘UpFront’ host Mehdi Hasan.

“I think that would be in line with the reproductive rights of women,” he added.

When asked how this would be possible with widespread resistance from large swaths of Brazilians, especially within the Catholic Church, he responded, “That requires an evolution from society.”

“I hope we will be ready to do that,” he added.

Amorim, who also sits on the UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel on the Global Response to Health Crises, suggested that the Supreme Court may be the most effective avenue to change abortion laws.

“There are lots of lobbies inside congress which will fight against it,” he said. “That’s why maybe the route through the Supreme Court might be a shorter one.”

Amorim also commented on the ongoing corruption scandal involving Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and said that she had not done anything wrong. “I’m confident also that no impeachment action will succeed,” he said.

Asked whether the Olympics could end up being a public relations disaster, Amorim said that Brazil’s standing has not been damaged and that it is a resilient country that had faced many other disasters and that it will face this one too.

*ENDS*

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

This UpFront interview with Celso Amorim is airing this Friday February 12th. The segments will be available through this link: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/upfront/ from 19.30GMT onwards. Please add this link to your online copy if quotes are used.

Please credit Al Jazeera English and ‘UpFront’ if you plan to use any quotes from this interview with Celso Amorim.

UpFront, hosted by Mehdi Hasan, broadcasts on Fridays at 19.30 GMT.

Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront

For more information, or media enquiries, please contact: pressoffice@aljazeera.net