Fundamental S01E03 - Defenders of Justice

Brazilian law permits abortion only in cases of rape and danger to the woman's life. Sexual and reproductive health and rights are severely limited, and there are deep racial prejudices against Black Brazilians. Civil society is also under threat, and activists in Brazil remain on high alert after the murder of prominent Black Brazilian activist Marielle Franco in March 2018.

In "Defenders of Justice," we meet Lucia Xavier, who is part of a movement of powerful women activists who are reframing reproductive rights as an issue of women's rights and racial justice, as she and others work to address security threats against activists fighting for reproductive rights. We also meet Daniele Duarte, an Afro-Brazilian lesbian activist who participates in protests and marches against the rise of the extremist president Jair Bolsonaro. Lucia, Daniele, and others are part of a vibrant and intersectional feminist movement in Brazil, mobilizing what some are calling a "Feminist Spring" in Brazil as the Supreme Court considers decriminalizing abortion.