Opponents view the controversial act as part of a growing trend across Brazil to further restrict abortion access

A new law has just come into force in Rio de Janeiro requiring all public hospitals and clinics run by the municipal government to display anti-abortion signs bearing messages such as: “Did you know that the unborn child is discarded as hospital waste?”

Reproductive rights activists view the act as the latest example of a growing trend across Brazil to further restrict access to abortion in a country that already has some of the world’s most restrictive laws.

In Latin America’s largest country, abortion is only legal in cases of rape, when the pregnant person’s life is at risk, or if the foetus has anencephaly, a fatal brain disorder.

In recent years, however, politicians, doctors and even judges have taken steps to prevent abortions even in those circumstances.