Antiabortion legal mobilization in Brazil: Human rights as a field of contention.

This article examines the evolving legal strategies of the Brazilian antiabortion movement, highlighting its shift from moral-religious arguments to sophisticated legal framings that appropriate human rights language to advance conservative, anti-pluralist goals. It situates this transformation within Brazil’s broader conservative wave under President Jair Bolsonaro, emphasizing the central role of lawyers and legal mobilization in reframing abortion debates through rights-based discourse, including claims of conscience and freedom of religion. The analysis of Supreme Court cases and public hearings reveals how antiabortion actors increasingly employ individualistic and absolute interpretations of rights—such as the right to life, dignity, and health—often subordinating women’s rights and pluralism. The article also discusses the movement’s expansion into opposing broader gender and LGBTQ+ rights under the “anti-gender ideology” frame, illustrating a transnational diffusion of neoconservative legal tactics adapted to local political and legal contexts.