ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the struggle for abortion rights in Latin America reflects a grounded form of public criminology. It traces historical developments in Brazil regarding medication abortion, from the discovery of the abortive pill by Brazilian women to the current context, which is marked by a strong criminalization of not only of abortion per se but also of any action related to the medication. I then compare the Brazilian case to the Argentine one, where criminal laws regulating abortion are similar, but the medication is available in pharmacies with no criminal offense attached to them. Through this comparison, I analyze the impact of the criminalization of the abortion pill on social movement mobilization and direct-action activism. These forms of activism reflect key tenets of public criminology, even though they are not considered as such. In doing so, they prompt a rethinking of what forms of engagement become visible and what publics come to count in traditional articulations of public criminology.
