Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion.
Abortion was made legal across the US after a landmark legal ruling in 1973, often referred to as the Roe v Wade case.
Now the US Supreme Court – the nation’s most senior legal body – has overturned that right.
Twenty-six conservative states are either certain or considered likely to introduce new abortion restrictions or bans.
Since abortion only legal in Nigeria to save the life of the pregnant woman, many women resort to unsafe abortion methods, leading to abortion-related complications and increasing mortality and morbidity rates in the country. According to research done by the Guttmacher Institute, an estimated 456,000 unsafe abortions are done in Nigeria every year.[7] In a joint study carried out by the Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians of Nigeria and Nigeria’s Ministry of Health, the number of women who engage in unsafe abortion was estimated at 20,000 each year.[8] Research has revealed that only 40% of abortions are performed by physicians with improved health facilities while the remaining percentage are performed by non-physicians
Pregnancy termination and the law in Nigeria
I Okagbue 1
Abortion in Nigeria is illegal and carries a heavy jail sentence–up to 14 years imprisonment–unless it is performed to save the life of the pregnant woman. Nevertheless, a large number of clandestine abortions continue to be carried out regularly, often with dire consequences for the lives and health of the women involved. This article reviews abortion legislation in Nigeria, examines court decisions on the subject, and presents the results of a survey conducted on the incidence of abortion in the country. A case is made for revising existing abortion laws. A brief look is taken at the various indications for abortion that might be adopted and a proposal is made for a new abortion policy in Nigeria in the light of the country’s recently adopted population policy.
PIP: In Nigeria, abortion is illegal and carries a stiff jail sentence, up to 14 years, unless done to save the life of the pregnant woman. Abortion legislation in Nigeria and court decisions on the subject are examined. Abortion is governed by the Criminal Code in the southern states, and the Penal Code in the northern states. In “R v. Idiong and Umo,” the 2 defendants had been convicted of murder on the grounds that the 1st accused had obtained the services of the 2nd accused, a native doctor, to give native medicine to bring about an abortion. The abortion resulted in the woman’s death. Therefore the 1st accused was party to the crime. The West African Court of Appeal found that the 2nd accused had acted innocently believing that the medicine would relieve pain that the dead woman suffered from a retained placenta. He gave an abortifacient for expulsion of the placenta. He was found “not guilty” of murder and manslaughter.
The 1st accused was found criminally responsible for causing the abortion, but was found not guilty of murder. He was guilty of manslaughter, however. In 1981, the Nigerian Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics sponsored a Termination of Pregnancy Bill in the House of Representatives. However, pressure groups lobbied against it, and the bill did not pass. In 1984, a survey was done to assess incidence of abortion. Representative samples were taken from the north and the south. The capital cities of 8 different states were covered. In 5 sample hospitals within the Lagos Metropolis in Lagos State, 125 abortions or treatments of incomplete abortions were recorded within a month. In 4 representative hospitals from Oyo State, 81 abortions or corrections of incomplete abortions were recorded within 1 month.
In the northern state of Kaduna, information was very difficult to obtain. At one of the University Teaching Hospitals in Zaria, records showed there were 103 treatments of incomplete abortions during the preceding year. The usual approach to revising abortion laws has been to expand or extend the grounds for legal abortion. In some jurisdictions, courts have widened the ground by adopting the decision that life includes mental and physical health. Abortion may be possible for eugenic reasons. In February, 1988, the Nigerian government announced its adoption of a population policy; a new abortion policy should take this into consideration.
Nigeria’s abortion laws make it one of the most restrictive countries regarding abortion.[4] Nigeria’s criminal law system is divided between the northern and southern states of Nigeria.
The Criminal Code is currently enforced in southern states. The abortion laws of the Criminal Code are expressed within sections 228, 229, and 230. Section 228 states that any doctor providing a miscarriage to a woman is guilty of a felony and up to 14 years of imprisonment. Section 229 states that any woman obtaining a miscarriage is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 7 years. Section 230 states that anyone supplying anything intended for a woman’s miscarriage is also guilty of a felony and maybe sentenced to up to 3 years of imprisonment.[5]
The Penal Code operates in northern states, with abortion laws contained in sections 232, 233, and 234. The sections of the Penal Code parallel the Criminal Code, besides the exception for abortion with the purpose of saving the life of the mother. The Penal Code’s punishments include imprisonment, fine, or both.[4] The offenses of these codes are punishable regardless of whether the miscarriage was successful.[6] No provisions have been made to the Criminal Code making exceptions for the preservations of the mother’s life. However, the cases of Rex vs Edgar and Rex vs Bourne have made it generally accepted that abortion performed to preserve the mother’s life is not an appropriate transgression of the Criminal Code
DOTIPEDIA
Nigeria’s abortion laws make it one of the most restrictive countries regarding abortion.[4] Nigeria’s criminal law system is divided between the northern and southern states of Nigeria.
The Criminal Code is currently enforced in southern states. The abortion laws of the Criminal Code are expressed within sections 228, 229, and 230. Section 228 states that any doctor providing a miscarriage to a woman is guilty of a felony and up to 14 years of imprisonment. Section 229 states that any woman obtaining a miscarriage is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 7 years. Section 230 states that anyone supplying anything intended for a woman’s miscarriage is also guilty of a felony and maybe sentenced to up to 3 years of imprisonment.[5]
The Penal Code operates in northern states, with abortion laws contained in sections 232, 233, and 234. The sections of the Penal Code parallel the Criminal Code, besides the exception for abortion with the purpose of saving the life of the mother. The Penal Code’s punishments include imprisonment, fine, or both.[4] The offenses of these codes are punishable regardless of whether the miscarriage was successful.[6] No provisions have been made to the Criminal Code making exceptions for the preservations of the mother’s life. However, the cases of Rex vs Edgar and Rex vs Bourne have made it generally accepted that abortion performed to preserve the mother’s life is not an appropriate transgression of the Criminal Code