Imo State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has signed into
law a bill which permits women to procure an abortion when they need it. The bill
was sponsored by the Majority Leader and Imo state house member representing
Ahiazu Mbise constituency, Mrs Ihuoma Adekunle, the law is to be cited as “Imo State of Nigeria, Violence
Against Persons (Prohibition) Law Number 12 of 2012”.
As culled from VANGUARD According to the new
law, every woman shall have the right to enjoy reproductive rights,
including rights to medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape,
incest and where the continued pregnancy endangers the life or the physical,
mental, psychological or emotional health of the mother.
The law was very specific that a woman
“shall have the right to determine the processes concerning reproduction in her
body.”
Okorocha also approved that every woman
should have a right to health, which should be understood to mean enjoyment of
the highest level of physical, mental and social well-being and healthcare
services.
These provisions include everything
relating to family planning.
While some persons welcome the new law,
the chairman, Catholic Medical Practitioners Association, Dr. Phillip Njemanze,
has reacted angrily to the law, arguing that “the law is anti-God, dehumanizing
and totally unacceptable to the association.
He further states that ,“The law is
devastating. With its signing into law by Governor Okorocha, abortion has been
legalized in the state and anybody, just anybody can now ask for abortion as a
right in the state.”
While recalling that the National
Assembly had earlier rejected the bill, especially as it was against
humanity,
Njemanze reasoned that the law would encourage human egg trafficking.
Meanwhile for the
Majority Leader Mrs. Ihuoma Adekunle, “every woman shall have the right to take decisions about
her health needs and requirements.
