Nigeria shines at world medical law conference

The best of Nigerian medicolegal minds were on display at the recently concluded 22nd World Congress on Medical, which held in Los Angeles California from the of August 7th to 11th, 2016 as Nigerians glow in their presentations.

The World Congress on Medical Law is the yearly convergence of global leaders in the Medical Law field and the congress is organized annually by the World Association for Medical Law (WAML).

Nigerian delegates who presented papers at the congress include Laolu Osanyin, University of Lagos law lecturer, Mrs. Folashade Adegbite and America-based Nigerian Pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu.

Other Nigerian attendees include Dr. Abdulmumini Ibrahim, the Registrar at Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and Mrs. Wuraola Aina of the Nigerian Medical Law Summit Group.

Mrs. Adegbite delivered a paper titled; “Emerging Trends Necessitating Controlled Legalized Abortion in Nigeria: The Trauma of Rape Victims of Boko Haram”. The paper x-rayed the double jeopardy effects of rape victims impregnated by their rapists.

She conducted a medicolegal analysis of the situation and juxtaposed it the current stringent existing legislations on abortion in Nigeria and recommended the enforcement of the autonomous right of such victims to elective abortions.

Osanyin who incidentally is the first and currently the only African member on the board of governors of WAML, presented two papers.

His lead paper was titled; “Consent Procedures for access to Organs and Tissue Donations in Nigeria”, where he examined the controversy surrounding the procedure for organ and tissue donations in Nigeria and the attendant debates on the provisions of the National Health Act.

These debates, according to Osanyin, have provided two schools of thoughts. The first raises the alarm over the apparent legalization of the sale of organs and tissues by the National Health Act. This school asserts that the National Health Act infringes on the fundamental rights of Nigerians to health by authorizing medical doctors to remove organs of living persons in Nigeria without their informed consent.

Osanyin opined that the second school holds the view that the law is a much-welcomed development as before the National Health Act.

There were unethical practices in organ and tissue donations through the activities of “Organ Merchants” who commercialized organ and tissue donations.