[History of the legislation for the nursing profession in Brazil]

This article outlines the contribution of the Brazilian Association of Nursing (ABEn) in the study, discussion and approval of laws and regulations that have significant impact on the nursing profession. It points out that ABEn has always had an active, pacific and accurate way of working. It emphasizes that the association has dealt with de law making-body and executive members of the government, based on technical arguments and secondary data in order to comply with the nursing professional's needs.