Abortion in south africa was legal only under very limited circumstances until 1 february 1997, when the choice on termination of pregnancy act act 92 of 1996 came into force, providing abortion on demand for a variety of cases. Abortion in nigeria in nigeria, abortion is legal only when performed to save a womans life. Recently, the lagos ministry of health began disseminating the 2011 criminal codewhich allows for legal abortion to protect the physical health and life of a womanand required that safe abortion services be provided within the full extent of the law. In other words, ransomekuti could not have picked a better time to make his push for a permissive abortion law. Criminal code act chapter 77 laws of the federation of nigeria 1990 arrangement of sections the original numbering of sections has been retained in order not to disturb the cross references to those sections in other enactments which are many and will be found throughout the whole edition 1. She recommended that such victims be given the autonomous right to elective abortions. In nigeria, as in most developing countries, induced abortion is illegal except to save the life of the pregnant woman. The type thats right for you will depend on various factors, including how far along you are in your pregnancy, your medical history, access to a doctor or. It has been banned frequently and otherwise limited by law. In the predominantly muslim states of northern nigeria, the penal code, law no.
Widespread incidence of unsafe induced abortions often results in death or. Abortion in nigeria is illegal and carries a heavy jail sentenceup to 14 years imprisonmentunless it is performed to save the life of the pregnant woman. Under the penal code, an abortion may be legally performed only to save the life of the pregnant woman. Perspectives on medical law in nigeria, an account from the world congress on medical law. Reproductive health matters vol 12, issue 24, suppl. Abortion in nigeria is governed by two laws that differ depending on geographical location. Abortion restrictions put womens health, safety and well. Out of 145 countries with available data in 2012, governments of 87 countries 60 per cent had implemented concrete measures to improve access. I need an abortion in nigeria want to abort a baby. Abortion policies and reproductive health around the world.
Still, abortions are common, and most are unsafe because they are done. Reproductive health is central to the 2030 agenda the 2030 agenda for sustainable development contains a. Bourne is applied, which allows abortions to be performed for physical. Abortion has been a controversial subject in many societies through history on religious, moral, ethical, practical, and political grounds. Abortion in nigeria is illegal on more grounds than it is legal yet the number of women who perform the procedure every year is significant. Kenya and nigeria, malawi, niger, senegal, tanzania, zambia. Assisted reproductive technologies art is a novel technology which raises a number of challenges with which society has to cope. Knowledge and perception of the nigerian abortion law by abortion seekers in southeastern nigeria.
Each year in nigeria hundreds of thousands of women become pregnant without wanting to and many women with unwanted pregnancies decide to end them by abortion. In circumstances where abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be safe. Perception of abortion and abortion laws by lawyers in. Nigerias abortion provisions center for reproductive rights. Anyone performing or attempting to perform an abortion by any means is subject to one to five years imprisonment and payment of a fine of cfaf 50,000500,000.
Punishment of offences committed in the federal capital territory, abuja. The case law has established that a lawful abortion is one procured for saving the life of the mother. Since abortion is illegal in nigeria, many women resolve to unsafe abortion methods thereby leading to abortion related complications and increasing mortality and morbidity rates in the country. Abortion in nigeria is indeed a social phenomenon and a discussion for the general public rather than what the court will determine in a case relating to it if at all such case will ever get to the court of law. Moreover, there is a general feeling in nigeria that strenuous protest against pronouncements by any government official might have the effect of jeopardizing the transition to democracy.
In actuality, the performance of abortion in nigeria is almost totally ignored by the legal authorities in nigeria and there are virtually no persecutions. As a result of the abortion laws currently in place in the country, nigeria is said to be one of the most restrictive countries when it comes to abortion. This is because most of its provisions are life sensitive but more. Knowledge and perception of the nigerian abortion law by abortion. Abortion law in nigeria abortion is heavily restricted throughout nigeria, with one set of laws applying in northern nigeria and other laws applying in southern nigeria. The law was passed during colonial times, and has since then been codified in our laws. Maternal mortality, unsafe abortion, liberalization of abortion laws. Liberalization of abortion and reduction of abortion related morbidity. Unsafe abortions can endanger womens reproductive health and lead to serious often lifethreatening. Abortion in nigeria is illegal and carries a heavy jail sentenceup to 14 years imprisonment unless it is performed to save the life of the pregnant woman.
Because abortion is legal only to save a womans life most procedures are clandestine and many are carried out in unsafe circumstances. The estimated unintended pregnancy rate was 59 per 1,000 women aged 1549. Abortion laws in nigeria the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria is prolife. The defeat of the 2006 reproductive health bill in the senate largely because it was considered an abortion bill, and the 20 repeal of a 2012 law that, among other things, had expanded the criteria for legal abortion in imo state, exemplify the increasing level of social conservatism in nigeria. Pregnancy tennination and the law in nigeria isabella okagbue abortion in nigeria is illegal and carries a heavy jail sentenceup to 14 years imprisonmentunless it is performed to save the life of the pregnant woman. The interaction of law and ethics in medical practice despite their distinctive roles, law and medical ethics overlap in many areas. Because of nigeria s low contraceptive prevalence, a substantial number of women have unintended pregnancies, many of which are resolved through clandestine abortion, despite the country. Pdf unwanted pregnancy and induced abortion in nigeria. Still, abortions are common, and most are unsafe because they are done clandestinely, by unskilled providers or both. Nigeria as one of the most religious countries in the world frowns against taking another mans life and most especially snuffing life out of an unborn child, even if it is still a blood clot at its development stage, you have no reason whatsoever to terminate the pregnancy, unless, in rare occasions where giving birth to the child will lead to complications. According to the criminal code which is used in southern nigeria, the abortion laws are explicitly in the sections 228, 229, and 230.
Unsafe abortion is a major contributor to the countrys high levels of maternal death, ill health and disability. One for the northern states and the other for the southern states. Abstractsafe abortion services are only legal in nigeria to save the life of the woman. Abortion law permits, prohibits, restricts, or otherwise regulates the availability of abortion. This principle has been allowed in practice in the whole of nigeria thence. Both laws specifically allow abortions to be performed to save the life of the woman. Nevertheless, a large number of clandestine abortions continue to be carried out regularly, often with dire consequences for the. In nigeria, abortion is legal only when performed to save a womans life. Abortion and challenges of adolescent pregnancy in lagos. In addition, in the southern states, the holding of rex v. In a further research made by the guttmacher institute, an estimated 456,000 unsafe abortions are done in nigeria every. However, liberalization of abortion law in nigeria was not considered a.
A bill passed by the alabama legislature would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion. The abortion law fails to protect women from unsafe abortions. Northern nigeria is governed by the penal code and southern nigeria is governed by the criminal code. Bourne, referred to above, the whole nigeria in practice has allowed therapeutic abortion in order to save a womans life or her physical and mental health. By atere, adewole akinyemi department of sociology and criminology osun state university okuku campus, osun state ayodele, johnson oluwole department of sociology, faculty of social sciences, lagos state university, ojo lagos, nigeria. It is indeed difficult to dissociate the legal and ethical basis of the professional duties of doctors. Approximately 20 million terminations are performed under unsafe conditions, mostly in developing countries with restrictive abortion laws. Pregnancy termination and the law in nigeria jstor. In the predominantly muslim states of northern nigeria, which contain about half the population of the country, the penal code, law no. In nigeria, when infertility occurs, couples seek various treatments, including assisted reproductive technologies. Abortion in nigeria is governed by two different laws. Rather it forces women to go an unsafe route, which is killing more women daily. Service providers are being trained to provide, to the full extent of the law, safe abortions and post abortion care, and advocacy efforts are continuing to lay the groundwork for.
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