The World Health Organisation (WHO) deems unsafe abortion as one of the preventable causes
of maternal mortality as statistics indicate that it accounts for almost a third of maternal mortality cases in Nigeria, hence the urgent need for the advancement of reproductive health rights in Nigeria.

This was the focus at an exploratory retreat for legal practitioners on Strategic Litigation for Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) in Nigeria organised by the Centre for Human
Rights and Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, in collaboration with the Centre for
Reproductive Rights USA, Regional Office, Kenya.

The Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Prof. Ige Bolodeoku, noted that critical
areas including strategic litigation, maternal health advocacy and media support stand as key
concerns in SRHR concerns.

“As law lecturers and legal practitioners, we hold a crucial role in shaping the legal landscape of our nation, Nigeria. Our combined efforts and expertise can lead to significant advancements in the protection and promotion of sexual and reproductive health rights,” he said.

Director, Centre for Human Rights, University of Lagos. Dr. Abiola Afolabi-Akiyode, stated
that the retreat was much needed, as it sought to identify ways to contribute to the legal
landscape regarding safe abortion in Nigeria, given the peculiarity of various cases.

“Over time, Nigeria has seen more cases of rape and incest, and some of them lead to
pregnancy, and the people affected do not have right to medical abortion, because of the
restrictions placed on abortion in Nigeria now. The lawyers have come together to ask the
question on whether it is fair to have these kinds of circumstances, where people are left without any legal option to address their issues. This has led us to think, as academics, about the contributions we can make to the discussion,” she said.

Afolabi-Akiyode also revealed that there were life threatening complications that the current
abortion laws did not make provision for, stressing that there was an urgent need to brainstorm on methods to ensure that these laws get updated to meet international health standards.

“There are also cases of people who are pregnant with cancer, kidney problems and other kinds
of diseases that could be life threatening, but unfortunately because these are not exceptions, the abortion law would still not allow medical doctors to make that decision. The law will be helpful in redefining some of these issues – through expansion of these laws, academic engagement, by contributing to existing cases in court or engaging international human rights institutions to help provide information about the implications of unsafe abortion,” she noted.

Sub Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Dr. Adegbite Folasade, admitted that most of
the laws regarding sexual and reproductive health were influenced by societal patriarchy, saying there was a need for a more ‘equitable’ approach to law making.

“The first question we need to ask is: Who are the makers of these laws? What is their ideology
and perspective? If they are big on masculinity, it is going to affect their perspective on law, because they do not really understand the challenges or the issues because they are looking at it from the eye of a man. If we have more women in legislation, they will make laws because they understand the peculiarities of a woman.”