The Supreme Court of Brazil has begun voting on whether to decriminalize abortion. A minister, however, called for the vote to take place in person instead of via video – and no new date has yet been set for the session.

A woman can only have an abortion when she is raped, has a risk to her life, or the foetus has anencephaly.

Up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, abortion will be decriminalised if the Supreme Court votes in favor.

It wasn’t until Paloma’s contraceptive implant was fitted that she discovered she was pregnant – the 26-year-old took a test and discovered she was expecting. Her pregnancy may not have been planned, but she embraced the idea of adding to her family.

To find out the baby’s sex and begin buying clothes, she even paid for a private scan at 15 weeks.

However, everything changed during that medical appointment. There was a body stalk anomaly in the foetus, which means the baby would die shortly after birth because the organs were outside the abdominal wall.

Her doctor advised her to discuss the matter further. During her next appointment, she inquired about the baby’s condition. She wasn’t allowed to know by the doctor.

Her consultation was over, and she was sent home with questions still swirling in her head. In order to confirm the diagnosis, she went to another private clinic.

There has been a law on abortion in Brazil since 1940. Paloma was told by her private doctor that a judge would grant her abortion if two medical professionals recommended it, even though a body stalk anomaly is not one of the reasons for abortion.