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MARCH 12, 2007 VOL. 20. NO 22 |
| Slaughtering the Unborn Strident calls against the legalisation of abortion in Nigeria gains currency, as stakeholders at a talk-shop overwhemlingly vote against the practice By Osamudiamen Ogbonmwan Probably to many, abortion might just mean the termination of an unwanted pregnancy. But to congressman Chris Smith, representing New Jersey’s 4th District in the United States House of Representatives, who was a guest speaker at a public lecture held penultimate week at the Pan African University, Ajah in Lagos, entitled, “Children under Extinction: A Call to Action,” abortion is nothing but violence against an unborn child, which kills the baby and hurts the mother. Instructively, the issue of abortion in Nigeria has been an topical discourse for long, little wonder the White Sands School, Lekki in collaboration with the Nigerian Association for family Development (NAFAD), decided to bring together like-minded individuals who regard the act as a scourge to be totally eradicated, not only in the society but the world at large to desseit it. According to Smith, calls for the destruction of the unborn child are mostly encouraged by foreign institutions that disguise as helpers to African countries. Smith: “I have been to many countries in the world and have had first-hand experience of how women are tricked by these organisations that come from Europe, America and Canada. They are bent on imposing abortion on demand, while making it look like its the people who want it. It’s an action plan they’ve used in other countries.” While hoping that Nigeria will refuse to legalise abortion, unlike Ethiopia and South Africa which had long legalised the practice, Smith went further to paint pathetic pictures of countries such as China where forced abortions are carried out on women who as much as go against the one child per couple law, or on women who get pregnant before they are 25 – the official marriage age for women. “A great inhumanity is taking place in China and it is because of the forced option that was given to them. Statistics has shown that in year 2020, 40 million men in China won’t be able to find wives because they have been aborted. This is because of the male preference in China. When a couple notices that the foetus in the mother’s womb is female, they opt to abort it since they are only expected to have a child. It is so bad that the authorities monitor all married women’s circle and tens of thousands of abortions are conducted annually. Nigeria can’t go the same path because it needs to defend its culture of life and that of the mother and child.” Another speaker, Jerry Okuosa, Director Project for Human Development, said that “ a doctor who does abortion can be likened to an assassin because his is paid to do it. “After conception, the heart of a baby starts beating 18 days later. We have to be vigilant that abortion is not legalised in this country.” Thad Enyinna, a lecturer in the Pan African University, apart from arguing that abortion is contrary to the culture in Africa, also blames foreign institutions for aiding it. Enyinna: “These institutions abroad sponsor the bills in countries and tag it “women emancipation” and other names like that. People are recruited and money is pumped into the project. But we must understand that Africans understand the spiritual and are interested in building life to make the next generation better. We have the duty to stand against this law”. The Source, however, gathered from Philip Njemanze, chairman of the African Anti-Abortion Coalition, that contrary to widely held opinion, abortion is indeed legal in Nigeria. Njemanze: “A document was signed to that effect in 2003, even though it is against our constitution.” Just like Smith, Njemanze said that international organisations such as the United Nations Population Fund, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, I-pass, et cetera, are all obsessed with legalising abortion. Smith further pointed accusing fingers at them, saying, “They are all responsible for the inhumanity in China. Romanians are also currently not enjoying the decision they made to legalise it.” Participants at the lecture, which included non-governmental organi-sations, medical practitioners, parents and students, each gave their views about the subject and it all centered around the need to protect the family unit. A call for parents to expose their kids to sexuality subjects on time was canvassed to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Also, another call for abortion-friendly international organisations to be expelled from the African continent was made. But Smith advised that it would be better, or maybe more productive, if advocates against such organisations would rather take the bull by the horn by lobbying people in authority, like the Health Minister, “Prepare literatures, show them the harm that abortion can cause to your nation. Americans are not proud of a legalising abortion; no woman ever remains the same after she aborts a child. We need to see abortion for what it is. The unborn child has a right and that’s what we want to protect,” he said. |
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