A Brazilian judge wants to authorize abortions for women whose children are likely to be stillborn due to microcephaly, a birth defect whose occurrence has skyrocketed in the country and experts belief might be linked to the recent outbreak of the Zika virus.

Jesseir Coelho de Alcântara, a judge and law professor in the central Brazilian state of Goiás, told BBC Brasil that such procedures needed to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

"If there were to occur a request from a pregnant women, in the case of a pregnancy with microcephaly and Zika (and) with medical proof that that baby would not be born alive," the judge hypothesized, "then yes, we would authorize and abortion."

Brazil's Strict Abortion Restrictions

In theory, Brazilian law only allows prematurely ending a pregnancy if the life of the woman is in danger or if the petitioner's pregnancy is the result of rape. But Coelho de Alcântara has previously permitted a series of legal abortions for mothers expecting babies with anencephaly, another serious serious birth defect, BBC Brasil noted.

Brasilia University law professor Debora Diniz, meanwhile, told the BBC the disease disproportionately affected the poor.

"It is important to remember, when we talk about abortion and reproductive rights in general, that we have a social class split in Brazil -- wealthy women will access safe abortion, legal or illegal, and poor women will go to the illegal market or continue to be pregnant," Diniz explained.

'We are All Worried,' Brazilian Leader Says

While medical experts have not yet been able to positively establish a link between Zika and microcephaly, the number of babies born with the congenital condition has prompted international health warnings, including a recommendation from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to avoid travel to Brazil and other countries affected by the Zika outbreak.

During a state visit to Ecuador, meanwhile, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Jan. 28 called on the entire continent to step up efforts to help rein in the Zika outbreak, Folha de S.Paulo reported.

"We in this region of the world are all worried about the Zika virus," Rousseff admitted. "(Ecuadorian) President Rafael Correa, the president of Colombia, we are all worried," the Brazilian leader assured.

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