WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RIGHTS OF THE UNBORN IN THE NATIONAL LEGISLATURE: DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH FOR THE THEORIZATION OF REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE

INTRODUCTION: This study investigates how the Brazilian legislature employs the category of the “unborn child” (nascituro) in legislative proposals and the impacts of such usage on the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls, based on the controversies surrounding Article 2 of the 2002 Civil Code. Drawing on the theoretical framework of reproductive justice, the research is guided by the question: how does the national legislature apply the category of the “unborn child” in its bills, and what are the consequences for the human rights of Brazilian women and girls? The study mapped these proposals in order to understand their content and effects on women’shuman rights. AIMS: To analyze bills under consideration in the National Congress that use the categories “unborn child,” “fetus,” and “human embryo,” identifying their impacts on sexual and reproductive rights. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research adopted the documentary research method combined with theorization, grounded in the theoretical frameworks of sexual rights, reproductive rights, and reproductive justice. Initially, a literature review was conducted for the selection and annotation of articles. Subsequently, bills (PLs) and constitutional amendment proposals (PECs) under consideration in the National Congress were identified and cataloged using the keywords “unborn child,” “human embryo,” and “fetus.” The documents were organized through tables divided into cataloging and coding stages. RESULTS: A total of 103 bills containing the terms “unborn child,” “fetus,” and “human embryo” were cataloged. After analysis, 47 documents were selected for in-depth study, in which conflicts between rights were identified. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: The research found that the Brazilian legislature privileges the conceptionist theory, which prioritizes the protection of the being-to-be-born over women’s sexual and reproductive rights.This trend, influenced by conservative agendas, hinders the realization of reproductive justice by disregarding the necessary conditions for women’s autonomy.

KEYWORDS: Unborn child; Legal personality; Women’s Sexual Rights (WSR); Women’s Reproductive Rights (WRR); Reproductive Justice.