The Christian caucus is irritating the left and has already shown its strength by overturning the abortion resolution.

After the urgency request was approved on October 22nd, the project that creates the so-called Christian Caucus could be voted on in plenary this November. The proposal is supported by members of the evangelical and Catholic fronts, which bring together more than 300 deputies and who managed to orchestrate, this Wednesday (5), the overturning of a resolution of the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (Conanda) that facilitates abortion in children and adolescents.

Given the size of their representation, the group of parliamentarians is advocating for the creation of a new thematic leadership – the Christian Caucus – with voting rights in the Chamber's College of Leaders, the body responsible for setting the voting agenda. This initiative is being led by Representatives Gilberto Nascimento (PSD-SP), president of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front, and Luiz Gastão (PSD-CE), leader of the Catholic Parliamentary Front.

The idea is to unify the two fronts under an institutional representation, with the right to appoint a leader and participate in meetings that define the Chamber's priorities. The fronts are associations of deputies from various parties who meet to articulate specific agendas of interest to a segment, but they do not have the regulatory power to interfere in the processing of bills, like the party caucuses and blocs.

Initially, the leadership of the Christian Caucus will be held by Gilberto Nascimento, from the evangelical front, who after a year will hand over the position to a member of the Catholic front.

Leadership status guarantees a series of political prerogatives: the leader of the Christian Caucus will be able to vote in the meetings of the College of Leaders, where it is decided what goes on the plenary agenda, negotiate speaking time, participate in procedural agreements, and have direct access to the Board of Directors.

The position also ensures the right to appoint representatives to permanent committees and participate in negotiation rounds with the government and other party groups. According to information gathered by the report from party leaders, the vote on the Draft Legislative Decree (PDL) regarding the Conanda resolution, for example, only took place due to pressure from religious groups on the Speaker of the House, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB).

Religious groups argue that they are seeking a right similar to that of the women's and black caucuses, which already participate in the College of Leaders with leadership status. "More than 80% of the Brazilian population is Christian. The Constitution guarantees us freedom of expression of faith in all forms," ​​explains Congressman Luiz Gastão.

Left-wing parties are trying to delay the vote on the bill in the Chamber of Deputies.

The request for urgent consideration to create the Christian Caucus was approved by 398 votes in favor and only 30 against on October 22nd. With the urgency approved, the proposal can be voted on directly in plenary in the coming weeks, without going through the thematic committees.

The vote stirred the plenary and pitted the base of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's (PT) government, composed of left-wing parties, against the opposition, which leans conservative. The PT and PSOL instructed their members to vote against the proposal, arguing that Brazil is a secular state and that the creation of the parliamentary group would institutionalize a religious privilege.

Despite the PT (Workers' Party) caucus's opposition, 56 party deputies voted in favor of the urgency motion and only 10 against. Privately, PT parliamentarians admit they would have difficulty voting against the urgency motion given the pressure from their constituents. Nevertheless, they indicated they are working to ensure the bill is not put to a vote this year.

The PT leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Lindbergh Farias (RJ), described the measure as an institutional distortion. "We are creating a monstrosity in the College of Leaders," he stated.

Meanwhile, PSOL leader Talíria Petrone (RJ) reinforced the criticism and questioned whether other religions would also have the same right. "Are we also going to have a Candomblé caucus? A caucus for religions of African origin?" she asked.

Congressman Otoni de Paula (MDB-RJ), a member of the Evangelical Front, countered the criticism from left-wing parties. "This is desperation, because with the Christian Caucus, the conservative movement gains strength in this plenary. That's not what they want," he stated.

The proposal to institutionalize the Christian Caucus had been under discussion since Arthur Lira's (PP-AL) administration, but gained momentum under Hugo Motta, who has sought closer ties with conservative groups and to expand the scope of thematic fronts within the Chamber .

Behind the scenes, the move is seen as a political gesture to realign the parliamentary base, at a time when the House is debating issues sensitive to the Christian electorate, such as the regulation of social media, drug policy, and President Lula's vetoes of the new environmental licensing framework.

The Christian caucus demonstrates its strength and overturns abortion regulations.

The Evangelical Front, created in 2003, and the Catholic Front, which is more recent, together comprise approximately 300 parliamentarians. Both have significant influence on issues related to morals, family, and education. With a seat on the College of Leaders, the group would have direct influence in defining the agenda and in negotiations between the government and the opposition.

Even before its formal creation, the future Christian Caucus has already defined its first area of ​​focus: the revision of the Conanda resolution, which allows abortion for children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence, without the need for parental consent. The text to suspend the decree had been stalled since February and, according to House leaders, was put to a vote at this time so that the religious group could demonstrate that it has a majority in the plenary.

The text from Conanda, edited in 2024, stipulates that children and adolescents who are victims of rape have the right to be informed about the possibility of terminating a pregnancy, as provided by law, without the need for a police report or judicial authorization. After approval in the Chamber of Deputies, the PDL (Proposed Legislative Decree) goes to the Senate, where it also needs to be approved for the Conanda resolution to cease to be valid.

The resolution also considers it discriminatory for a healthcare professional to refuse to perform the procedure based solely on disbelief in the victim's account.

Congresswoman Chris Tonietto (PL-RJ) is the author of the bill that suspends the resolution, arguing that the regulation "invents a right to abortion that does not exist."

The bill's rapporteur, Luiz Gastão (PSD-CE), said that the Conanda text "protects the rapist" by allowing abortion without police registration. "The waiver of judicial authorization, in my view, constitutes an affront to the unborn child's right of access to the Judiciary," he declared.

According to him, the resolution "goes beyond legal limits, life, medical literature, and common sense itself." "The resolution does not stipulate any time limit for the interruption of pregnancy, which, in practice, would authorize abortion in cases where the pregnancy is close to 40 weeks," said the rapporteur.

Gastão explained that even in countries where abortion is more widely permitted, such as France and the United Kingdom, there is always a time limit for the practice. He noted that, currently, with the support of neonatal intensive care units, a baby's chances of survival increase significantly from 24 weeks onwards.

"To admit that an executive branch body completely disregards extrauterine fetal viability and establishes the possibility of abortions in advanced pregnancies, whatever the cause of the pregnancy, proves to be incompatible with the Penal Code, in addition to directly clashing with the life and physical integrity of the unborn child," he argued.

According to the leader of the PL party, Representative Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ), "Conanda does not have the right to legislate on abortion." Representative Dr. Zacharias Calil (União-GO), however, argued that Conanda's resolution "violates the principles of legality and separation of powers, in addition to compromising the constitutional right to parental authority."