Maria Helena Costa - Genocídio Silencioso - Aborto

Summary

Maria Helena Costa, president of the Conservative Family Association and author of the newly launched book Silent Genocide, argues that abortion should be understood as a form of genocide and as part of a broader “culture of death.” She links this culture to issues such as gender ideology and euthanasia.

She says the book’s title reflects how abortion is treated as normalized and “quiet,” while still involving the killing of an unborn child.

Abortion framed as contraception rather than exceptional cases

A central claim in Costa’s argument is that abortion has expanded beyond cases of rape or serious danger to the mother. She argues it has increasingly become a routine method of contraception after conception.

Citing statistics she says come from recent national reporting—about 18,000 abortions, with only six linked to rape and four to serious maternal health risk—Costa argues that the vast majority of abortions are used for non-medical reasons, despite being publicly framed as safety or healthcare.

Critique of terminology and “desensitization”

Costa disputes the language used to describe abortion, criticizing terms like “termination” and “voluntary termination of pregnancy.” She argues that such phrasing obscures the reality that abortion is killing a living human being.

She also claims that schools and society “desensitize” people by teaching abortion as a health issue or reproductive-choice matter. In her view, people are more likely to accept the moral reality when they focus on embryos/fetuses less and less on euphemisms.

Claimed historical progression of abortion ideologies

From a historical perspective, Costa claims shifts in abortion policy followed changing ideologies:

• Eugenic framing: eliminating “the unfit”
• Economic framing: arguments about poverty and family circumstances
• Women’s rights / bodily autonomy framing: arguing that “the baby is not the woman’s body”
• Liberation / self-realization framing: invoking cultural endorsements and examples she associates with celebrities and pro-abortion institutions

She argues these changing narratives helped make abortion socially acceptable rather than addressing what she describes as its moral reality.

Legal personhood and selective moral reasoning

Costa further disputes claims that the unborn child lacks human status or legal personhood. She cites examples where she says legal systems treat harm to a pregnant person as also harming the unborn child.

She also criticizes what she describes as selective application of moral and legal principles by abortion advocates. Her argument is that if unborn children are “not alive” or “not persons,” then—logically—killing after birth or other scenarios would also be permitted, which she says is unacceptable.

Psychological and social consequences beyond the patient

Psychological and social consequences are another major focus. Costa argues that abortion creates lasting impacts not only for women who undergo it, but also for others she says are ignored, including:

• Surviving siblings who know a brother or sister was aborted
• Parents, especially fathers who may be pressured by circumstances or legal structures

She compares the emotional burden to survivor’s guilt in war contexts. She also argues that law and practice remove meaningful consent from fathers while still imposing responsibilities such as child support.

Professional constraints and conscientious objection

Costa discusses constraints faced by healthcare systems and professionals. She criticizes efforts she views as aimed at limiting conscientious objection, arguing that proposed frameworks would prevent healthcare workers from refusing participation.

She uses this as evidence for her broader view that abortion advocacy demands that others “do the killing.”

Examples, testimony, and ultrasound-related narratives

Costa supports her moral position with vivid accounts and examples from personal and public testimony, including references to ultrasound imagery and descriptions of the unborn’s development.

She also includes a narrative about her daughter’s pregnancy later in life, along with alleged medical messaging that portrayed pregnancy as something to “remove.” Costa presents this as part of an institutional culture that she says promotes abortion quickly under vulnerable conditions.

Program framing and conclusion

Overall, the program presents Costa’s book as both an argument and a tool meant to provoke reflection—saying it should not be read quickly, but answered with questionnaires intended to help readers evaluate what she considers the underlying truth about abortion.

She concludes that abortion is the “greatest genocide in history” because it is normalized and socially ignored.

Presenters or contributors

• João Nuno Pinto (host / presenter)
• Maria Helena Costa (guest; President of the Conservative Family Association; author of Silent Genocide)