.10,000 Nigeria Women May Die From Unsafe Abortion
- Experts
By Chioma Umeha
“I was raped in school. As a result of this, I
became pregnant. I was 13 at that time. Then, I was in Junior Secondary School
(JSS) two. So I did not know that I was pregnant. When my parents found out
that I was pregnant, they told me to go for abortion.
“They took me to a particular nurse somewhere in
Okobaba, which is close to where we live at Otumara Community at Apapa Road,
Ebute Metta, in Lagos. The nurse gave me an injection in her house one Saturday
morning. I don’t know what type of injection I was given, but the nurse assured
us that the pregnancy would be terminated the next two days – Monday.
“That fateful Monday, I was in the bathroom when I
passed the foetus. It was like a heavy period, all at once. I lost a lot of
blood such that I felt dizzy while walking, yet no medication was given to
support me.
This was the confession of Esther, (not real name)
a 17-years-old girl to Daily Independent. She was spotted recently, at Otumara
Community, Apapa area of Lagos where she was spotted begging with a baby at her
back.
“I was seriously ill after the abortion; that I am
alive today is by chance. That is why I have sworn not to go through abortion
again in my life. As you can see, I have a new baby,” she further told our
correspondent.
Many women and girls in Otumara Community are
ready to share their stories of abortion as long as their identities are not
revealed. This is because of the stigma and misinformation that still surrounds
the procedure. Even in countries where abortion has been legal for decades,
abortion often remains a controversial subject with those against the procedure
giving political, moral, social, ethical and religious reasons.
These developments are coming amid anxieties over
the impact of reintroduction of the Mexico City Policy, also known as the
‘Global Gag Rule,’ (GGR) by President Donald Trump.
GGR is an executive order by the US government
that blocks U.S. federal funding for non-governmental organisations that
provide abortion counselling or referrals, advocate to decriminalise abortion
or expand abortion services.
There are deep concerns among experts that GGR
would worsen the maternal morbidity and mortality indices in all the developing
countries of the world.
In Nigeria, abortion is legal only when performed
to save a woman’s life. Still, abortions are common, and most are unsafe
because they are done clandestinely, by unskilled providers or both.
The Guttmacher Institute 2015 fact sheet shows
that unsafe abortion is a major contributor to Nigeria’s high levels of
maternal death, ill health and disability.
Though Esther is lucky and alive to tell her
story, Ukamaka Ndidi was not so fortunate. It was not long after Ukamaka
abandoned her live-in lover whom she had two children for that she became
pregnant. This time, she could not say exactly who was responsible for the
pregnancy. So she opted for an abortion which claimed her life. Both Esther and
Ukamaka lived in Otumara Community, before the latter’s death.
Speaking to Daily Independent was a petty trader,
popularly known as ‘Mama Put’ at Otumara Community who complained that abortion
is a common thing in the area.
She said; “The abortion was not done in the
hospital, Ukamaka went to a nurse and the whole thing was not done well. When
Ukamaka came home she started using concoction called ‘agbo’ in local parlance
to completely ‘wash’ her womb, and in the process, she developed complications
and then died.”
Speaking to Daily Independent, Miss Ugomma John,
Owner of a private initiative, Maximum Impact, at Otumara Community, said that
unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortion is a common thing in this area.
“I grew up in this community and while growing up,
we used to wake up to news of abortion in the toilet and children born
prematurely and thrown in the dustbin. That was even before I got to know what
abortion means.
“And as I grew older this ugly scene which reduced
last four years is getting escalated. I think something is wrong with the
recent escalation. As I speak with you, we have many cases of teenage
pregnancies, and most times these girls are secretly made to secure abortion,
either by their parents or peers.
“We recently had a few cases of people who almost
lost their lives to unsafe abortions and others who died too. An average
teenager in this community has been through an unsafe abortion.”
In spite of Nigeria’s highly restrictive abortion
law, an estimated 1.25 million induced abortions occurred in 2012, the
Guttmacher Institute 2015 fact sheet stated.
“The number doubled from an estimated 610,000 in
1996 because of both population growth and an increase in the rate of
abortion.”
It further said, “Most abortions result from
unintended pregnancy. Levels of both unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion
could be reduced if the Nigerian government and its local and international
partners increased efforts to expand and promote family planning programmes as
well as sexuality and family life education throughout the country.
“Such programmes should offer high-quality care
that includes counseling on a wide range of contraceptive methods and the
ability to easily switch methods when needed.
Responding to what is responsible for high rate of
teenage pregnancies and abortions, John said; “Many things are responsible for
it, including poverty and ignorance. Most parents in the Otumara Community are
not being good role models to the youths. Another thing is that many of the
teenagers are forced to hawk to support themselves and their families due to
poverty. Often, they get abused and pregnant in the process. Another one is
that there is lack of proper formal and sex education.”
Commenting on the roles her initiative in
addressing the menace, she said; “Like I said earlier, we have many cases of
teenage pregnancy here that was why I started Maximum Impact Initiative in
2017, though not registered, the idea was to educate the teenagers on the need
for them to get education, acquire a skill and also exposing them to the
dangers of premarital sex and abortions.”
Otumara Community represents hundreds of
communities in Nigeria, where unsafe abortion is widespread.
In view of this, experts said they are “seriously
worried,” lamenting that the GGR policy which some have tagged as, ‘Trump’s
global assault on family planning,’ is increasing deadly back-street abortions.
Reacting on the impact of the GGR on women and
girls, Dimos Sakellaridis, the
Country Director, DKT International Nigeria, said it is an infringement on
their reproductive health and rights as well as a setback on family planning
campaign.
“The law has reversed the global progress made on
contraceptives, family planning and reproductive health rights. It takes away
the option a woman has to decide when and if she wants to have children.”
She predicted that because of Trumps “Global Gag
Rule, “The rate of maternal mortality would shoot up and majority would result
from unsafe abortion.
Sakellaridis in an exclusive interview with Daily
Independent noted; “The negative impact can better be imagined. We must not
forget that for every woman who is denied access is a tragedy waiting to happen
because of unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and potential death. There
will be an additional 660,000 abortions in Nigeria over the next four years,
with 10,000 women dying as a result.”
On his part, Reacting, Professor Innocent Ujah, a
Professor of Obstetrics Gynaecology, notes, “Unfortunately, the cut of fund for
life-saving services by the US government under the GGR of Trump’s
Administration will further worsen the maternal morbidity and mortality indices
in all the developing countries of the world, Nigeria, inclusive.
“The overall reproductive health services will be
the worse for it.”
Ujah who is also Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecological Surgeon, in an
interview with Daily Independent, faulted the current abortion laws in the
country, saying they are very
restrictive, as abortion is allowed only to save the life of woman.
The don currently with Department Of
Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Jos and Jos
University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State, regrets, “Unfortunately, many young girls and even married
are dying in large number in Nigeria from unsafe abortion that is clandestinely
performed by quacks.
On his part, a family doctor, Dr Kay Adesola, also
shares his opinion on GGR, “Already Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is very
high and the expanded GGR is going to create a huge gap.
Dr Adesola, who is the immediate past Secretary,
General of Association of General Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGMPN)
Women and girls are the most affected as many of these women are going to die
from causes related to pregnancy and unsafe abortion.”
Hauwa Shekarau, Country Director, Ipas Nigeria, in
her paper, titled; Barriers to safe abortion services in Nigeria, says, both
the Criminal Code and Penal Code on abortion are restrictive and outdated.
Shekarau spoke during a recent training of the
Network of Reproductive Health Journalists of Nigeria (NRHJN) in Ibadan, Oyo
state.
Her words; “The law is obsolete and is not meeting
the yearnings of the people. The law was inelegantly drafted.”
Legally restricting reproductive health services
such as abortion does not affect the number of abortions that happen, Shekarau
explains.
“Legal restrictions on abortion make abortion
unsafe, especially for poor women. Where abortion is legal and safe services
are available, deaths and disabilities from abortion are greatly reduced,” the
Ipas Country Director says.
Shekarau cited the statement of Dr. H. Nakajima,
Director-General, WHO, 1999, while condemning the country’s restrictive
abortion law saying; “Hundreds of pregnant women, alive at sunset last night
never saw the sunrise this morning.
“Some of them died in labour, some died of
hemorrhage in a hospital lacking blood, some died in the painful convulsions of
eclampsia and some died on the table of an unskilled abortionist trying to
terminate an unintended pregnancy.”
