An Analysis of Nigeria's Restrictive Abortion Laws and the Need for its Review

Abortion is any interruption of the continuous development of a foetus from the point of conception to when it is capable of surviving outside the mothers’ womb. Induced abortion is expressly criminalised under the Nigeria penal legal system. The criminalization of induced abortion is argued to be a factor that has by implication denied women access to safe abortion procedures and expose them to the risk of unsafe abortions. There are however agitations for the liberalisation of abortion laws in Nigeria having regards to its negative effect on women in Nigeria, occasioned by the lack of access to safe abortion and resort to clandestine abortion procedures, due to the restrictions in the Nigerian penal codes. Adopting the doctrinal research approach, this paper examines the position of the law on abortion in Nigeria, as well as the agitations revolving around it. This paper further examines the negative effect of unsafe abortion on the reproductive health of women, the limitations on their reproductive right as posed by the Nigerian restrictive abortion laws. This paper finds that induced abortion is prevalent in Nigeria and it is been carried out in unsafe and unprofessional environments because of the restrictive laws. It recommends that abortion laws in Nigeria be relaxed and induced abortion be regulated by law