Abstract
The issue of abortion is a complex philosophical and moral question which, in public policy analysis, has been treated as a morality policy. This article seeks to analyze the dynamics of the abortion political agenda in the Brazilian Federal Senate, based on the Punctuated Equilibrium Theory approach.

Baumgartner and Jones’ (1993) approach analyzed the attention and image given to abortion between 1988 and October 2020, with the aim of understanding which factors interfere in shaping the agenda. Through documentary research and content analysis, 33 legislative proposals, 295 pronouncements and six public hearings were analyzed, and the image of politics present in these elements was classified according to the tone: “neutral”, “favorable” or “contrary” to abortion.

The results reveal the coexisting images of the issue in the arguments and preferences of senators, political parties and participants in hearings, both internal and external to the government. There is a tendency towards stability in the Senate with a predominantly anti-abortion tone, but new images for framing the issue are being discussed, positioning abortion as a public health issue and as a right, simultaneously with its understanding as a crime, something also present in focus events such as public hearings. In addition, senators and external actors point to the Supreme Court as a forum that adds changes to abortion legislation, such as ADPF 54 (STF, 2013) and ADPF 442 (STF, 2017), which is still open. It is suggested that the Supreme Court be addressed in future studies on agenda dynamics.

Keywords: Abortion; Agenda-setting; Morality policy; Federal Senate.

Link to the magazine and full article: /https://periodicos.fgv.br/cadernosebape/article/view/84339