The social-democrats’ document presented last Friday states that the concept of obstetric violence adopted in the law, effective since March this year, is “excessively broad and undesirably vague,” and its application “could result in the creation of an unacceptable stigma on doctors and health professionals, even encouraging undesirable and dangerous defensive medical practices.”
The concept of obstetric violence is defined in law 33/2025, effective since March 31. According to the second article, obstetric violence includes physical and verbal acts by health professionals based on dehumanizing behavior, over-medicalization, or “pathologization of natural processes, disrespecting the protection regime,” from pre-conception to birth.
This law also established a legal framework for episiotomy, an incision made to facilitate childbirth, promoting its eradication. As per the decree published in Diário da República, routine episiotomies and other unjustified repeated practices could lead to disciplinary inquiries for health professionals or penalties in hospital funding.
Alongside the elimination of the concept of obstetric violence, the PSD argued in its draft law that the creation of a legal framework for performing episiotomies “compromises and degrades the necessary and essential autonomy of health professionals responsible for clinical decisions,” proposing the repeal of this article as well.
The social-democrats also noted that the current law—originating from proposals by the Bloco de Esquerda and the PAN, and opposed by the PSD and the CDS—lacked adequate participation from the scientific community and representative entities of health professionals.
Next Friday, deputies of the Assembly of the Republic will discuss the draft law presented by the CDS, which seeks to repeal the law related to rights during pregnancy and childbirth. This party argues that the concept of obstetric violence “is not aligned with the standards followed in other European Union countries” and that the current decree “does not protect women or their children,” potentially hindering birth rates.
