Heloísa Rodrigues seeks to erase mother's name from Brazilian birth certificate

Heloísa Rodrigues, a 28‑year‑old biomedical student, filed a lawsuit in São Paulo in 2024 to remove her mother’s name from her birth certificate, citing years of childhood abuse, neglect and alleged sexual exploitation. A first‑instance judge allowed the removal of the maternal surname but refused to delete the mother’s affiliation from the civil register, stating that maternity is a biological fact that must be recorded. The decision referenced the Roman law principle *mater semper certa est* and emphasized that the court is not a therapeutic venue.

Rodrigues appealed to the São Paulo Court of Justice, arguing that keeping the mother’s name perpetuates her trauma. The case gained widespread attention after she posted a video that amassed over one million views, in which she questioned, “Why does the mother need protection from a ‘civil death’ while the daughter cannot be protected from carrying the name of the woman who sold her to men when she was nine?” The appeal remains pending.