The Ogun state government said it had adopted safe abortion guidelines as the legal basis for the welfare of pregnant women “whose pregnancy may pose a danger to life and physical health.”
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker said, referring to a document on how pregnant women in the state can have safe abortions.
Mr Corker said the government was providing “standardised medical service for women that find themselves in certain situations such as rape, incest, cancer, and hypertension among others”.
Coker said the new document was supported by stakeholders, including Muslim and Christian leaders in the state, and would not result in government legalization of abortion.
She said the document was put together to reduce preventable deaths among women of childbearing age and victims of domestic violence.
At the introduction of STOP to Abeokuta, Mr Coker said the policy would provide standard medical care for victims of gender-based violence.
According to the Commissioner of Health, “There has been a law in place in Nigeria and Ogun State that tells us in what situation that abortion can be carried out. Because we want to avoid misinterpretation of that and also empower our clinicians to carry out their duties within the boundaries of the laws on the land, that is why we have articulated it in black and white.
“I like to point out that this document is important for healthcare workers that encounter women in this category. It must be emphasised that Ogun State does not legalise abortion.
“What we are doing is giving standardised medical service for women that find themselves in certain situations such as rape, incest, cancer, and hypertension, among others. There are legal situations where a pregnancy cannot continue, and what we are doing is to make sure these women have access to medical care,” Coker said.
Representatives of both the League of Imams and Alfas and Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr. Rabiu Kusimo and Revd. Stephen Adeyemi, respectively, endorsed the document.
Kusimo and Adeyemi said the step taken by the government would not only save pregnant women’s lives but also allow only competent medical workers to engage in approved abortion in safe places.
The Executive Secretary, Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr Elijah Ogunsola, said the dissemination of the policy further strengthened the commitment of the present administration to ensuring the right to health of women.
cc: Punch Ng
