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Lawyers from the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Present a Panel on the Right to Life at the Seminário SUDamericano

Renan Silva 2023-11-28T17:39:58+00:00

From October 17 to 20, 2023, the city of Palhoça in southern Brazil hosted the fifth edition of the SUDamerican Seminar, organized by the Roble del Sur Foundation. This international organization, formed by South American members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aims to strengthen the role of saints in the public sphere of South American society. The event brought together 58 young professionals who are members of the Church, dedicated to discussing the theme "Our Stewardship towards God's Creations." Prominent speakers included Bishop Gérald Caussé, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, and professors from BYU. Topics covered included climate change, ecotheology, environmental preservation, nutrition, and human health.

A significant part of the seminar focused on stewardship towards life, exploring legal issues related to abortion. Romanna Remor, President of the Roble del Sur Foundation, emphasized the importance of paying attention to all of God's creations, including human beings. She highlighted that stewardship of the Earth, natural resources, and our own bodies should extend to the care of human life, created in the image and likeness of the Creator. The inclusion of a debate on the right to human life, from a legal perspective, allowed for the exploration of different aspects of stewardship towards God's creations. The topic of abortion is particularly relevant in Latin America, where decriminalization is a debated issue. The panel provided a comprehensive analysis, outlining the general panorama of the topic and exploring concepts present in national legislation and international human rights jurisprudence.

Juan Beimar Paye, leader of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society in Bolivia, emphasized the importance of actively participating in public discussions about life. He cited cases of activists in different South American countries advocating for the right to life, even in the face of laws permitting abortion. Renan Apolônio Silva, a member of the leadership of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Brazil Northeast Chapter, presented an analysis of abortion laws in the ten South American countries represented at the seminar. He underscored the importance of monitoring the jurisprudence of national courts, which have the power to interpret legal and constitutional norms, influencing institutional practices on the subject.

The example of Brazil was mentioned, where the Supreme Federal Court interprets specific cases, such as abortion of anencephalic fetuses, not as a criminal act of abortion but as therapeutic anticipation of childbirth, a legal innovation technically called distinguishing. Although the SUDamerican Seminar gathers professionals from various fields, it has a significant presence of lawyers, some of whom are members of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. Valéria Patrícia Maia, a lawyer from northern Brazil, emphasized the importance of protecting life as a divine gift, even amid the scientific complexity of determining when life begins.

Rubi Saltos, a member of the Guayaquil Chapter in Ecuador, stressed the relevance of the panel in providing a global view of legislation and concepts related to abortion in South America. Guillermo Borbón, from Paraguay, agreed that, given the complexity of the topic, comparative analyses are essential to understand the different legal, moral, and social approaches to protecting human life in gestation. In concluding the panel, Renan Apolônio Silva highlighted the absence of a perfect law and the importance of comparative analyses to learn from values protected by other legislations. The decision to support or modify laws should be an individual choice based on each citizen's understanding of what is most appropriate to defend life, in harmony with other fundamental rights.

About the Author

Renan Silva

I'm a lawyer, graduated from the Recife Law School (Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil). Postgraduate in Constitutional Law, in Public Law, and in Human Rights. I've served a mission in the Argentina Cordoba Mission, where I learned fluent Spanish, and started having experiences that made me see the importance of religious freedom. As a lawyer, I work in Labour Law and Appellate Law. I continue to carry out academic activities, more focused on Religious Freedom, Political Sciences, and Law and Literature. I’m also a member of the Religious Law and Freedom Commission of the OAB (brazilian bar) in my city, Olinda, and I serve as Vice President of that Commission, which gives me many opportunities to observe the challenges of religious freedom, and to collaborate in interreligious understanding in our City. In August 2020 I was invited to serve as Director of Religious Freedom for the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Brazil Northeast Chapter. Sice April 2022 I serve as President of the newly created Brazilian Association of Latter-day Saints Writers. In adition to that, now I serve as Executive Assistant and Council member at the Roble del Sur Foundation, an South American organization, created by and for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose purpose is to unite young professional people to develop skills and resources to make a positive impact in the community, especially in the public sphere.