Perspective Shift on Abortion in Nigeria: from Laws to Morals

Saving the life of a pregnant woman is the only condition in which abortion is allowed to be performed in Nigeria. According to the abortion laws of the Criminal Code, a woman is liable to face a jail sentence of seven years imprisonment if she carries out the procedure, the conductor of the abortion procedure faces a heavy jail sentence of up to fourteen years and also, anyone who supplies materials needed for the procedure faces a jail sentence of up to three years imprisonment. As a result of this, abortions are conducted under unsafe conditions which leads to a risk of maternal mortality. In this persuasive essay we state that women should not be punished with felony charges for removing unwanted pregnancies as the child would become her sole responsibility and a major part of her life. There are numerous reasons why women should be allowed access to the safe removal of an unwanted pregnancy in Nigeria.

The State of Abortion Laws in Nigeria

Nigeria has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. The Nigerian law does not take into consideration women (underage children included) who have fallen victim of rape situations. A National Survey carried out in 2014 on violence against children in Nigeria showed results that one in four females have experienced sexual violence. Some cases of this assault would result in unwanted pregnancies. These girls/women are then expected to carry their baby to term with the famous words commonly spoken by Nigerians, ‘children are a gift from God’. It is easier to give words of encouragement and reasons to a rape victim to keep a pregnancy than actually being the victim that has to carry the baby. Legalizing abortion would reduce rape victims taking drastic measures such as removing the fetus themselves or worse, suicide.

Every woman has the full right to her body but the Nigerian abortion law indirectly limits this by prohibiting women from removing the fetus that they do not want, in their own bodies. Criminalizing the act of a woman chooses to do with her body limits the right which she is supposed to have. When women are denied abortion, unwanted children are brought into the world. These women are then forced to be mothers against their wish, resulting in resenting their babies, feeling trapped as a mother and regretting falling pregnant. A child should not be brought into the world when circumstances are not favorable for their care and support by its parents. New born babies have been seen dumped in bushes, streets, dumpsters, and doorsteps of general hospitals by Nigerian women when they are forced to carry their unwanted pregnancies to full term and give birth.

According to Dr Ejike Orji, the Chairman of the Association for Advancement of Family Planning, (AAFP), unsafe abortion is the seconding leading cause of maternity death in Nigeria. Women who fall pregnant and do not want to keep their babies are willing to go through any circumstance to ensure the pregnancy is gotten rid of. They seek help from quack doctors who have no regards to their health and no form of supervision provided. As stated by Mrs. Shekarau, director of International Pregnancy Advisory Services in Nigeria, Nigeria’s abortions laws do not stop abortion, rather they create an environment for quack doctors to take advantage of these women. Abortion is the biggest moneymaker for quack doctors in Nigeria. Quack doctors know that with the presence of the Nigerian law, they are the only options for desperate girls and women to perform the procedure. Thirty four thousand to fifty thousand women die from aborting their babies using quack doctors every year in Nigeria.

The Church considers abortion a revolting sin and practice, opposing its members not to perform the procedure. It is considered as an immoral practice because it is seen as ending the life of an innocent child. A fetus is not scientifically or legally a person, therefore, abortion cannot be equated to taking the life of a human being. A fetus can be compared to a brain dead person with no consciousness, therefore it is actually dead. Thirty weeks fetus are not to be regarded as human beings as there is no presence of ontological change, but rather, just the complex cellular elements have become bigger and more complicated. Abortion is the termination of a fetus, not a baby. Fetuses do not have the capability of feeling pain, therefore they do not feel the pain of the procedure of abortions. Members of the Nigerian church who support the ban of abortion in Nigeria are indirectly contributing to the increase of maternal mortality rate as Nigerian women would not want to be seen and judged by fellow Nigerians as immoral or committing or participants to an immoral act.

Conclusion

The argument on abortion can be considered to be a moral argument based on individual perspective, so there should not be a law placed on it. Nigerian women who do not consider abortion an immoral act should be allowed to go to clinics and hospitals freely and perform the procedure by qualified doctors. Women who consider abortion an immoral act have the choice not to have an abortion. Laws should not be placed on acts that do not interfere or harm any other person. An act such as abortion solely affects the woman and her pregnancy, therefore as no harm comes to any other human, there is no actual need to ban abortion in Nigeria. Laws are placed on actions that directly or indirectly inflict harm to third parties.