The price of abortion in Nigeria ranges from N250 to a woman’s life.
Although they are officially sold in Nigeria for the prevention and treatment of post-delivery bleeding, abortion drugs are increasingly getting popular and their potential implications are far-reaching, pitching the country’s hard stance on abortion against the stark reality doctors and healthcare providers daily contend with at their clinics.
WHEN Mildred Haruna (not real name) was raped during an armed robbery incident in her Lagos environ in 2005, she never imagined that events of that fateful night would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Soon after the traumatising incident, Mildred discovered that she was pregnant. Her grief further increased because even if she decided to keep the pregnancy, her mega salary could not sustain the baby. Also, the baby some day may be referred to as a bastard since he did not have a father.
Stakeholders’ consensus at a three-day meeting by the Network of Reproductive Health Journalists was that the global gag rule, which requires that any overseas organisation receiving U.S. aid do not have anything to do with abortion, was anti-women and should be repelled.
As Nigeria prepares for the 4th Family Planning Conference, reports show that the country’s maternal mortality ratio has hit 576 death out of every 100,000 lie births daily.
This translate to about 40,000 women dying every year with 111 dyiing daily or 5 percent dying every hour.
This makes the country home to the second largest number of maternal deaths in the world after India.
By Appolonia Adeyemi
The new baby of Mrs Ekaete Udom was barely three months when she conceived again. Her new state was not only shocking, it was embarrassing. As a graduate with BSC Nursing, she is aware of the importance and benefit of child spacing.
Similarly, the advantage of using contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies is not new to her. However, Udom didn’t take advantage of both. The present burden is what does she do with another pregnancy considering the age of the baby at hand.
By Theo Adegoke
A professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, and Country Director, JHpiego Corporation, Prof Emmanuel Otolorin has raised an alarm that about 40,000 women and 241,000 new-born die in Nigeria annually from pregnancy and other related complications.
Speaking at the weekend during a Family Planning Media Roundtable in Abuja, he said lack of family planning accounted for 610,000 abortions, a rate of 25 abortions per 1000 women aged 15 – 44.
Updated
The trauma of rape and unwanted pregnancies forces victims to procure unsafe abortion, resulting in death and reproductive health complications. In order to address this challenge, Gender activist and Country Director, Ipas Nigeria, Hauwa Shekarau, in this interview with Franka Osakwe, calls for a review of the nation’s abortion law and increased freedom for women to make healthy choices. Excerpts:
Is it right for a woman to abort an unwanted pregnancy?
With low contraceptive prevalence rate of about fifteen percent, Nigeria continues to record high unintended pregnancies, many of which are resolved through clandestine abortion, despite the country’s restrictive abortion law. Many of these often result in death or disability, a statement by Development Communications (DEVCOM) Network said on Monday.
This alarm comes as Nigeria celebrates Safe Motherhood Day, today August 23 – August 24.
The statement reads further:
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said that the issue of maternal health could not be addressed without tackling the issue of family planning.
The Minister stated this in Abuja Tuesday when he received a report on: “Maternal Health in Nigeria, A Situation Report,” which was presented by Chima O.Izugbara, Senior Research Scientist on Population Dynamics and Reproductive Health, African Population and Health Research Centre.
