The Catholic Church in Nigeria is opposing the federal government’s reported plan to legalize abortion, calling it a violation of the sanctity of human life.
“This threatens the value and dignity of the human person,” said Rev. Fr. Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi, Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria. He criticized the plan as a “potential assault on our extant values, beliefs, and cultural norms.”
The health ministry announced plans earlier this month to review sections of the criminal code to decriminalize abortion, according to Nma Ogbonna, head of the ministry’s health promotion department. Ogbonna explained that the goal is to reduce unsafe abortions, which contribute to 20 percent to 30 percent of maternal deaths in the country.
The strong opposition to the plan to legalize abortion in Nigeria contrasts sharply with the U.S. where abortion rights remain a deeply contested issue.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the federal right to abortion, leaving states to decide their own abortion laws. Some states have restricted access, while others continue to allow it.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
