Updated

Brazilian Catholics will receive a stark message on abortion when up to 600 plastic fetuses are put on display during Masses across the South American nation, according to Australia's Herald Sun.

Some 265 Roman Catholic parishes will receive the tiny sculptures, which resemble a fetus at three months old, the Herald Sun reported.

Brazilian bishops are spearheading the effort as part of a campaign against pending legislation that would make it easier for mothers to seek abortions. The procedure is illegal in Brazil except in instances of rape or situations when a woman's life is threatened by the pregnancy, according to the Herald Sun.

More than a million illegal abortions are performed in the country each year, killing thousands according to estimates reported in the Herald Sun.

Critics accuse the bishops of using extreme propaganda.

"These are strong and clinical images, but they show the reality," Father Ramon of Our Lady of Peace church in Ipanema told the newspaper.

Click here to read more on this story from the Herald Sun Web site.