Experts seek reforms to curb unsafe abortions

Health experts have reiterated the importance of new policies to address unsafe abortion in the country.

They said policy reforms will encourage revising the legal framework to expand the grounds on which abortions can be performed legally and would help in reducing the incidence of unsafe procedures.

Statistics show that over 1,000 abortions occur in Nigeria yearly with 33 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age. Illegal abortion is responsible for about 11 per cent of maternal deaths in Nigeria and 50 per cent of such deaths involve adolescents and young women.

The experts made the call at a three-day training on safe abortion report organised by Media, Health and Rights Initiative of Nigeria (MHR) in Lagos. The training aimed at building a network of journalists, who accurately cover, and report issues related to reproductive health, and women in a positive manner.

Speaking at the event, an Ibadan-based legal practitioner, Abbey Crains, said an attempt was made on the policy by the promulgation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP), Law in 2015. The VAPP Act was signed into law in May 2015.

According to Crains, the Act seeks to end violence, particularly sexual violence, and protect the rights of survivors to receive comprehensive medical services. “It has been argued that appropriate standards and guidelines be developed for implementation of the VAPP Act by providing comprehensive medical care and services to victims of rape, incest and sexual assault.”

She said these guidelines are supposed to be developed at all levels of the health system to ensure that women can access modern methods of contraception, as well as comprehensive abortion care.

Crains explained that Imo State introduced a law in 2012, which had been termed by its opponents as anti-life legislation encouraging abortion.  Section 40 of the law provided for abortions in cases of incest and rape.

“It was a public outcry from the traditional and religious leaders that led to the repeal of the law in 2013,” she said.

She explained that abortion is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus, “It is a discontinuation of a pregnancy before attainment of viability. The termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent existence, is most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.

“An abortion may occur without intervention (which is known as miscarriage or spontaneous abortions or intentionally, which is induced abortion.”

Crains said under this provision, it is an offense punishable with 14 years imprisonment for any person including medical practitioners and health workers to attempt to terminate any pregnancy by any means whatsoever, even where the woman is not certified pregnant.

The Project Manager, Campaign to End Unsafe Abortion, Rumunse Obi, said there are misconceptions and myths about abortion that abortion pills cause emotional distress or depression.

“Anti-abortion propaganda makes this claim about all abortions, but the opposite is true. Women with unwanted pregnancies frequently feel a huge sense of relief after an abortion is over because they have regained control over their lives.

“Where women do get upset afterward, it is often because of problems in the relationship that led to the need for abortions or the consequences of the illegality of an abortion. Abortions are not always easy to go through because life is not always easy. Women do what is necessary and they cope.”

Consultant Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Dr Modupe Adedeji, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations guidelines on abortion advocated for the liberalisation and safe provision of abortion services.

“In contrast, Nigeria’s restrictive legal framework, under the penal code and criminal code Act limits access to safe abortion contributing to the presence of unsafe abortion procedures. The Nigerian National Guidelines seek to bridge this gap by providing clear conditions for legal abortions and educating healthcare providers, but significant challenges remain in ensuring widespread access to safe services, legal reforms and public health interventions are crucial to improving reproductive health outcomes in Nigeria.”

She said about 73 million abortions take place worldwide every year.  About 29 per cent of all pregnancies end in an induced abortion, while 45 per cent all abortions are unsafe, about 97 per cent of unsafe abortions take place in developing countries.

She said that unsafe abortions account for about 10-14 per cent of maternal deaths in Nigeria, while safe abortions seldom cause complications.