Materno-infantilism, feminism and maternal health policy in Brazil

In the last days of 2011, President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff issued a provisional measure (or draft law) entitled "National Surveillance and Monitoring Registration System for the Prevention of Maternal Mortality" (MP 557), as part of a new maternal health programme. It was supposed to address the pressing issue of maternal morbidity and mortality in Brazil, but instead it caused an explosive controversy because it used terms such as nascituro (unborn child) and proposed the compulsory registration of every pregnancy. After intense protests by feminist and human rights groups that this law was unconstitutional, violated women's right to privacy and threatened our already limited reproductive rights, the measure was revised in January 2012, omitting "the unborn child" but not the mandatory registration of pregnancy. Unfortunately, neither version of the draft law addresses the two main problems with maternal health in Brazil: the over-medicalisation of childbirth and its adverse effects, and the need for safe, legal abortion. The content of this measure itself reflects the conflictive nature of public policies on reproductive health in Brazil and how they are shaped by close links between different levels of government and political parties, and religious and professional sectors. (C) 2012 Reproductive Health Matters

O poder da caneta: a Medida Provisória no processo legislativo estadual

A Medida Provisória (MP) brasileira é um dos instrumentos legislativos mais poderosos nas mãos do Presidente da República para alterar unilateralmente o status quo. Apesar de o judiciário ter reconhecido a competência dos governadores para instituir e adotar a MP, esta existe apenas em seis estados. O artigo procura explicar a não adoção deste instrumento legislativo pela maioria dos estados. Enfatiza-se a escassa ou marginal relevância que é dada à MP pelo governador nos seis casos que a adotaram. Defende-se, aqui, que os governadores, diferentemente dos presidentes, não necessitam de mais um instrumento legislativo ou da ampliação da delegação de prerrogativas legislativas para garantir sua agenda frente a seus respectivos legislativos, já que com ou sem poder de decreto estadual os governadores controlariam a já limitada agenda decisória nos estados.