Not less than 150 women’s groups and civil society organizations have urged the Lagos State Government to restore the Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indication guidelines, allowing safe abortions for victims of rape and incest.
It’s worth noting that the Lagos State Government issued these guidelines in June 2022 to prevent avoidable deaths among women. However, the implementation was halted by July of the same year.
During a virtual press briefing held yesterday, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, a board member of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), expressed concern about the prevalent rates of rape and incest in society, which deprive women of their sexual and reproductive rights.
Dr. Akiyode-Afolabi highlighted that Benin Republic currently permits safe abortion in cases of incest and rape, emphasizing that abortion is not illegal in situations involving physical and mental health concerns.
Addressing the issue of unwanted pregnancies, the human rights lawyer remarked, “Every day people are getting pregnant when they cannot take care of the child.”
During the webinar, Dr. Akiyode-Afolabi officially launched a petition advocating for the reinstatement of the abortion guidelines.
She also shared alarming statistics, revealing that in 2017 alone, 212,000 women, out of an estimated two million annually who had abortions, sought treatment for complications. Additionally, 285,000 women did not receive the necessary care for the severe health consequences they faced.
