•LASUTH CMD wants law amended to take care of rape, incest victims

The Chief Medical Director of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, has appealed to the government to amend the Abortion Law in the country to at least take care of victims of rape and incest and allow abortion to be performed when the life of the pregnant woman is in danger.

According to him, 610,000 unsafe abortions are carried out in the country annually, with more than 80 per cent performed by quacks and inappropriate persons. He made the call at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba while delivering the Sixth Abimbola Aina Omololu-Mulele Annual Lecture in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, titled “The Tortuous Road to Maternal Mortality Reduction: Avoidable Strangleholds on Liberal Abortion Laws.”

He noted that in Nigeria, while the maternal mortality figure is 1,500 women per 100,000 births, unsafe abortion is responsible for 13 per cent of the mortality figure.

“Nigeria still operates an Abortion Law that came into force in 1907. That is surely obsolete. Do you believe that under that law, a rape victim who becomes pregnant cannot abort the pregnancy? Also, a victim of incest cannot abort, no matter the emotional trauma or humiliation. The law should be amended to allow such persons to abort the pregnancy. Ignorance about abortion to save lives has led to needless deaths.”

“A survey conducted in Southwest Nigeria by Oye Adeniran et al. showed that 27% of women experience unwanted pregnancies. In 2003, another survey showed that 15% of live births were unplanned, while 12% of pregnancies ended in induced abortion. If we have such a high rate of unintended or unplanned pregnancies, what do you think some would resort to? They would want to do away with such unwanted pregnancies. But with legal, cultural, and religious prejudices, they would mostly opt for underground steps to abort and possibly end up in the hands of quacks.”

“Sometimes, such women end up having complications in the process. More than 6 out of 10 abortions are unsafe, and 11% of the women experience complications for which they seek post-abortion care at health facilities. Not all are lucky. Some are damaged for life, and some eventually die,” he stated.

Quoting from the Bible, Fabamwo noted that in Genesis 3:16, God said the woman would experience increased pain in childbearing and not that she should die while giving birth.

In her message, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, praised the late Abimbola Aina Omololu-Mulele for the legacy she left behind to cater to the health needs of other people. She also thanked her family for sustaining the memory and legacy of the deceased.

Additionally, Dr. Ayokunle Olumadeji and Dr. Terry Saalu were awarded a grant of N1.5 million each by the Foundation for their research efforts in the field of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The event was chaired by Emeritus Professor Osato Giwa-Osagie.