Medical experts have called for an urgent review of the proposed abortion criminalization law before the Senate, warning that its passage could worsen maternal health outcomes in Nigeria.
Speaking in an interview on the implications of the bill, the Country Director of Ipas Health Foundation, Mr. Lucky Palmer, said the proposed law could increase the rate of maternal mortality in the country.
According to the IPAS director, Nigeria already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, much of which is linked to unsafe abortions saying that the bill, if passed, can further endanger the lives of doctors, nurses, and midwives who provide essential reproductive health services.
Mr. Palmer insisted that abortion was a form of healthcare, not a crime, and urged the Senate to protect women’s rights and avoid policies that regulate women’s private lives, and urged government to strengthen hospitals and empower medical professionals for better pregnancy management.
“Abortion is healthcare, not crime. The proposed law will not only increase unsafe practices but also threaten the lives of women and health workers.”
Also speaking, an Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Dr. Talemoh Wycliffe Doh, described abortion as a medical procedure that, when carried out by qualified professionals could be a safe means of saving lives.
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He stressed that government should focus on enforcing stiffer penalties against quack doctors who endanger women’s lives, rather than criminalizing abortion also warning that the proposed law could worsen the country’s reproductive health challenges.
“We should reduce unsafe abortions by supporting access to quality healthcare and addressing the root causes, not by criminalizing women.”
Dr Wycliffe asked government to expand access to contraceptives and introduce comprehensive sexuality education in schools to reduce unwanted pregnancies and the rate of unsafe abortions among young girls and women.
Recently, the Senate of Nigeria recently stepped down consideration of a bill that would have amended the Criminal Code to raise the penalty for supplying abortion-drugs or instruments from ~3 years to 10 years no-option-of-fine.
The stepping down happened because of disagreements over how to define “unlawful abortion” and concerns that the bill might discourage doctors from treating complications.
