Overall, the abortion effect acin the 1990s is crime rates after 1991 occurred in places counted for onehalf of the drop in crime from a factor. Pdf knowledge and perception of the nigerian abortion. Our laws are lenient on people that commit these abominable act. So nairalanders, i want to know your takes on this issue. In this article, the term abortion refers to induced abortion, and miscarriage refers to spontaneous abortion. Prevalence of abortion and contraceptive practice among women. The following activities were proposed by the network to celebrate international safe abortion day, 28 september 2019. Ipas nigerias global reputation in postabortion care has been brought to bear in nigeria with increasing intensity from 1987 to date through country wide promotion of the use of manual vacuum aspiration mva and concomitant postabortion family planning counseling and services, which is a strategy of equipping individual patients treated. States with high abortion rates in the 1970s and 1980s experienced greater crime reductions in the 1990s. While nigeria may not have drones, one organization is harnessing another unlikely tool for abortion support. In this country nigeria abortion is practice everyday even on. Nigerian police become allies for safe abortion women.
Pdf nigeria crime index assessment and classification. Pdf one in four pregnancies worldwide is voluntarily terminated. Some of these women seek to terminate their pregnanciesby safe, medical methods if possible, but often by whatever means are available. Abortion in nigeria is illegal on more grounds than it is legal yet the number of women who perform the procedure every year is significant. Based on 050 contributions for afghanistan, albania, algeria and 82 more countries and 50100 contributions for argentina, belgium, bulgaria and 24 more countries and over 100 contributions for australia. Abortion in nigeria in nigeria, abortion is legal only when performed to save a womans life.
Nigeria has been on the global crime map since 1980s. The result is that most women wanting an abortion tend to patronise unqualified practitioners who offer quick and cheap abortions. Abortion in nigeria is governed by two laws that differ depending on geographical location. Pdf knowledge and perception of the nigerian abortion law. However, abortions continue to be common in many areas, even where they are illegal. A renowned man of god abhorred abortion, until his own wife was raped and, out of pride, he chose a backalley abortion over a safe procedure, permanently harming his wife. Man rapes, impregnates and induces victim for abortion crime nairaland. The only legal way to have an abortion in nigeria is if havi. Abortions in nigeria are legally restricted, unsafe and.
Abortion in nigeria is illegal and carries a heavy jail sentenceup to 14 years imprisonment unless it is performed to save the life of the pregnant woman. The earliest research suggesting such an effect was a 1966 study in sweden. Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, and. Knowledge and perception of the nigerian abortion law by abortion seekers in southeastern nigeria article pdf available in journal of obstetrics and gynaecology 318. Ghana has a similar pattern of health as other countries in the region, characterized by a persistent burden of infectious disease among poor and rural populations, and growing noncommunicable illness. Criminal law in nigeria, sees punishment simpliciter as the object of criminal law 1. It is also common, and most procedures are performed under unsafe, clandestine conditions.
The incidence of abortion in nigeria article pdf available in international perspectives on sexual and reproductive health 4104. Reducing unsafe abortion in nigeria guttmacher institute. Proponents argue that the availability of abortion resulted in fewer births of children at the highest risk of committing crime. Abortion in nigeria is indeed a social phenomenon and a discussion for the general public rather than what the court will determine in a case relating to it if at all such case will ever get to the court of law. Criminal code act, chapter 77 of the laws of the federation of nigeria revised ed. The controversy as to whether abortion on demand will be legalized in nigeria has been long and protracted. But in some countries, abortion is considered a crime and women are arrested and punished by the state for. Widespread incidence of unsafe induced abortions often results in death or irreparable harm to women. Abortion in nigeria is illegal and carries a heavy jail sentenceup to 14 years imprisonmentunless it is performed to save the life of the pregnant woman.
Abortion law permits, prohibits, restricts, or otherwise regulates the availability of abortion. Abortion in nigeria wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Footnotes in nigeria, abortion is legally restricted under both the penal code, which is generally applied in the northern states, and the criminal code, which is applied in the southern states. Approximately 20 million terminations are performed under unsafe conditions, mostly. Worries being subject to a physical attack because of your skin colour, ethnic origin or religion.
In nigeria, abortion is illegal and perceived to be a taboo except if it is performed to save the life of a woman. Overall, the abortion effect ac in the 1990s is crime rates after 1991 occurred in places counted for onehalf of the drop in crime from a factor. Prevalence of abortion and contraceptive practice among. When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion, or less frequently induced miscarriage.
Abortion legislation in nigeria and court decisions on the subject are examined. The 5 states that allowed abortion in 1970 experienced declines earlier than the rest of the nation, which legalized in 1973 with roe v. The law was passed during colonial times, and has since then been codified in our laws. Women took drugs to restore or bring on their menses, often using herbs and. The only legal way to have an abortion in nigeria is if having the child is going to put the mothers life in danger. Nigerias abortion provisions center for reproductive rights. Since what i want is fewer abortions in nigeria by suggesting the elimination of quack physicians and making the abortion laws available to women in order to. Northern nigeria is governed by the penal code and southern nigeria is governed by the criminal code. Abortion is governed by the criminal code in the southern states, and the penal code in the northern states. Abortion and challenges of adolescent pregnancy in lagos. Both codes provide for similar criminal penalties for performance of an abortion. Abortion in nigeria is governed by two different laws. Pdf knowledge and perception of the nigerian abortion law by.
In 1996, an estimated 610,000 abortions occurred 25 per 1,000 women of childbearing age, of which 142,000 resulted in complications severe enough to require hospitalization. Abortion is illegal in nigeria, and most medical practitioners refuse to conduct abortions because of fear of the legal consequences. Abortion is governed by the criminal code in the southern states. Abortion is illegal except to save the life of the woman, and procedures are often inaccessible even for women who meet these requirements, forcing women to seek out clandestine procedures. Ghana, a country in west africa, has a population of approximately 24 million people. Social factors affecting effective crime prevention and. Pregnancy termination and the law in nigeria jstor. In one system, betteroff women can typically obtain relatively safe abortions. Create posters and banners with inscription related to the years theme abortion is healthcare share the posters on twitter, facebook, and instagram to create awareness of the campaign organize a forum in lagos, to host discussion and to share experiences of pregnancy and. Abortion, which has been one of the most controversial issues in the nigerian society is governed by two laws, one for the. Abortion is illegal in nigeria except to save a womans life. The aim of this study is to determine the rate of abortion and contraceptive use among women seeking repeat induced abortion in western nigeria. In nigeria abortion is legally restricted, permitted only to save the life of the mother.
Laws should not be used to scare, shame or imprison a woman for ending a pregnancy. Feb 06, 2014 laws should not be used to scare, shame or imprison a woman for ending a pregnancy. In a few states, including new york, inducing an abortion on oneself remains a crime. Abortion in nigeria is illegal and carries a heavy jail sentence. Children, health economics ten years have passed since john donohue and steven levitt initially proposed that legalized abortion played a major role in the dramatic decline in crime during the 1990s. Unsafe abortion is one of the most significant and preventable causes of maternal death and injury in nigeria.
Request pdf advocacy for reform of the abortion law in nigeria safe abortion services are only legal in nigeria to save the life of the woman. When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion, or less frequently induced. Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus. Still, abortions are common, and most are unsafe because they are done clandestinely, by unskilled providers or both. Nigeria, for example, 5070 percent of women hospitalized for complications of induced abortion are younger than 20. It has been banned frequently and otherwise limited by law. The death rate from unsafe abortions is thought to be one of the highest in africa. Unsafe abortion is a major contributor to the countrys high levels of maternal death, ill health and disability.
Reagans when abortion was a crime is the first study of the entire period of illegal abortion in the united states. Nov 02, 2002 the death rate from unsafe abortions is thought to be one of the highest in africa. These bodies have also requested that states permit abortion in certain cases. Nigeria crime index assessment and classification article pdf available in journal of applied security research 83. According to the criminal code which is used in southern nigeria, the abortion laws are explicitly in the sections 228, 229, and 230. In nigeria, the law makes it a criminal act to perform or seek for abortion except it is for the purpose of saving the women indulging in the act and the people demanding for it, abortion is still secretly practiced by medical practitioners and is still on the high side especially. Advocacy for reform of the abortion law in nigeria request pdf. In the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, which is the supreme law of the. This is not unconnected with the fact that the issues that border on life are always sensitive for society and all the more for the. In nigeria, as in all parts of the world, women experience pregnancies that are unplanned. Let me even digress,and talk about this rape of a thing,and the lenient nigeria laws against rapists. In criminal law textbooks in nigeria and beyond, a crime or offence is said to have been created only when the attendant punishment is also stipulated. Crime prevention and control in nigeria nigeria is among the developing countries of the world, and its experiencing a prevalence of rising crime waves, criminal intentions and varying degree of delinquencies.
Nigerias abortion law is based on the same 1861 offenses against persons act that governs northern irelands rules, which prochoice advocates are protesting this week by using drones to deliver abortion pills. This,most times leads to several complications and even death. In nigeria, as in most developing countries, induced abortion is illegal except to save the life of the pregnant woman. A recent study by the guttmacher institute found little difference in the estimated abortion rates in countries in which abortion is prohibited, or permitted only to save the life of a pregnant.
Crime began to fall roughly 18 years after abortion legalization. Over eight chapters, reagan examines the triangle of interactions among the medical profession, state authorities, and women in the practice, policing, and politics of abortion during the era when abortion was a crime p. Induced abortion contributes significantly to maternal mortality in developing countries yet women still seek repeat induced abortion in spite of availability of contraceptive services. 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. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or spontaneous abortion. Nigeriasmaternalmortalityrate1,100deathsper100,000 livebirthsisonetheworldshighest. In nigeria, abortion is illegal but it hasnt stopped ladies from getting their pregnancy aborted, that so, from quacks. In the southern part of the country, which is largely christian in religion, the criminal code of. Children, health economics ten years have passed since john donohue and steven levitt initially proposed that legalized abortion played a major role in. The practice of abortion is by no means a new phenomenon in nigeria, although the main reasons women seek abortion may be changing. Pdf crime and adolescent drug use in lagos, nigeria. As a result of the abortion laws currently in place in the country, nigeria is said to be one of the most restrictive countries when it comes to abortion. Advocacy for reform of the abortion law in nigeria.
In the predominantly muslim states of northern nigeria, which contain about half the population of the country, the penal code, law no. Abortion has been a controversial subject in many societies through history on religious, moral, ethical, practical, and political grounds. Nigerian criminal gangs rose to prominence in the 1980s, owing much to the globalization of the worlds economies and the high level of lawlessness already in the country. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, selfabortion was the most common form of abortion. This is worrisome because despite sustained advocacy for reform of the abortion law in nigeria, pregnancy termination remained highly restricted under the nigerian legal system oyeadeniran, long. The effect of legalized abortion on crime also the donohuelevitt hypothesis is a controversial hypothesis about the reduction in crime in the decades following the legalization of abortion. Abortions that meets these requirements are considered legal provided two physicians certify that the pregnancy poses a threat to the life of the woman.
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