Stakeholders in Nigeria are advocating for greater legal protection for survivors of rape and incest. They argue that women who become pregnant as a result of sexual violence should have access to safe abortion where continuing the pregnancy would cause severe psychological or other harm. This call was made during a conversation on maternal health, healthcare access, and legislative action to mark International Safe Abortion Day. The discussion was organized in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission and the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre.
The conversation was part of the UNFINISHED campaign, a Nigerian advocacy effort that seeks to prompt the National Assembly to complete the country’s existing legal framework on abortion care. This would enable trained healthcare workers to address a preventable cause of maternal death that current law places beyond their reach. The campaign aims to expand the existing legal grounds for abortion care, not to decriminalize it. Stakeholders emphasized that society should not compel survivors to continue pregnancies resulting from crimes committed against them, as this amounts to “double victimization.”
Dr. Tony Ojukwu, Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), noted that unsafe abortion remains a leading preventable cause of maternal mortality in Nigeria. He emphasized the need to confront the reality that the current legal framework leaves too many women without recourse to safe, lawful care. Ojukwu praised the UNFINISHED campaign for providing a powerful, humanizing language to discuss a topic often shrouded in stigma and silence. He stated that the objective of the campaign is not to confront progress made but to complete it.
Ojukwu advocated for a tightly bounded, medically justified expansion of the grounds for termination of pregnancy. He stressed the need for the law to recognize the realities of rape, incest, severe fetal abnormalities, and the mental health of the woman. According to him, this is not about abortion on demand but about saving lives and ensuring that when a woman faces a medically justifiable crisis, the law does not force her into the shadows. He called for the identification of champions in Parliament who will carry this bill forward.
Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, stressed the need to dismantle barriers preventing Nigerians from accessing healthcare. He stated that the legislature remains committed to strengthening the legislative framework, expanding social health insurance, and improving accountability across secondary and tertiary healthcare. Banigo said that true success will be achieved when no Nigerian woman risks her life to give life.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, called for a broader national conversation on abortion and maternal healthcare. She warned that legal reform alone will not save Nigerian women unless the country fixes the health system meant to protect them. Akpoti-Uduaghan emphasized that legal reform must go hand in hand with functioning hospitals, qualified doctors, affordable care, and support for women who choose either to terminate a pregnancy or carry it to term.
Akpoti-Uduaghan pointed out that the same health-system weaknesses that put women at risk during pregnancy and childbirth could create further dangers if abortion services were expanded without adequate safeguards. She cited her experience establishing a maternity centre through crowdfunding as an illustration of the challenges facing rural healthcare. The lawmaker emphasized that Nigeria should not simply replicate reproductive-health policies from countries with substantially different healthcare infrastructure.
Key points
- Stakeholders call for legal reforms to protect survivors of rape and incest in Nigeria.
- The UNFINISHED campaign seeks to expand existing legal grounds for abortion care.
- Legal reform must be accompanied by improvements in healthcare infrastructure and services.
