BRASILIA, Brazil (AP):

Brazil's health minister says women should be able to legally abort brainless foetuses without first going before a judge.

Jose Gomes Temporao told the Supreme Court yesterday that the absence of a brain "is incompatible with life".

The Supreme Court is considering a motion filed by the National Health Care Workers Confederation to eliminate the need to go before a judge to abort a brainless foetus. Currently, judicial approval can take months.

The measure is opposed by the Catholic Church in Brazil, where abortion is illegal.