Bishops rebuke Nigeria's health minister over alleged abortion legalization plans

A group of bishops condemned the collaboration of Nigeria's health minister with foreign groups and their plans to encourage Nigerian women to consider contraception, citing that it is anti-life and leads to abortion.

After the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ibadan Ecclesiastical province three-day meeting in Akure, Ondo State, the Church leaders released a statement signed by conference President and Archbishop of Ibadan Gabriel Abegunrin and Secretary Bishop Felix Ajakaye. The statement criticized the recent move of the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, according to Vanguard.

"The policy is being done all in the name of providing better maternal health and empowering our people," it read. The bishops said the collaboration aimed for the federal government to increase "the culture of contraception and subsequently, abortion among our people." It went on further and said, "We see such moves as deceptive to our people and harmful to moral values and we ask Nigerians to reject them."

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, abortion is not allowed in Nigeria and has a heavy sentence of up to 14 years of imprisonment. Despite this, a rising number of abortions are performed illegally, often risking the lives and health of women.

According to a United Nations document, abortion in Nigeria is illegal and considered taboo. It is only permitted to save the life of the pregnant woman, to preserve physical health, and to preserve mental health. Abortions that adhere to these standards are considered legal. To ensure adherence, two physicians are required to certify that the pregnancy poses a serious threat to the life of the woman. Nigeria has two abortion laws: one for the northern states and one for the southern states. Both laws specifically allow abortions to be performed to save the life of the woman.