Am still short of words over the recent newsbreak about the Bill passed into law by the Imo State House of Assembly proposing procurement of abortion for women when the need arises.
Trumpeta newspaper, a predominant Owerri-based tabloid with regional outlet in the South East region on Tuesday exclusively blew open a section of a law passed by the Imo State House of Assembly okaying abortion.
Imo State of Nigeria 2012, Law No 12 in Section (1) states that “Every Woman shall have the right to enjoy reproductive rights including the right 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”.
Judging form the above, denials from Speaker of the House, Rt Hon Ben Uwajumogu that the State Assembly did not pass abortion law is sheer defeatist tendency to escape backlash from antagonists of the Pro-Abortion Law. The skewed expression of the number one lawmaker shows paucity of knowledge on legal expertise of legislative exercise on the part of the state lawmakers not to observe the spirit and latter of the above stated section. I doubt if my beloved “Ogas” and responsible lawmakers I have unreserved respect will concur with the submissions of our dear Speaker on the Abortion Law and confirms if the law went through the normal crucibles of a Bill transforming into a law before Governor Okorocha’s assent. And I still challenge the ranking lawmakers who I am familiar with to state if this law was not the same Bill that led to the invasion of the Assembly Complex by Catholic faithful and other religious groups to show indingnation.
Expectedly, the banner headline generated a lot of controversy as mixed reactions greeted the publication. Another high-riding electronic media outfit based in Owerri Hot FM radio added more discourse on the issue as it became subject of topic on the daily morning programe “Peoples’ Assembly”.
Other media houses joined the fray to make the interesting Trumpeta exclusive news item their lead. I had concluded another commentary for this week’s Agwodinuju Column until a jolly good fellow who resides in London and interested stakeholder in affairs of Imo state drew my attention to comments trailing the abortion law brouhaha in one of the national dailies. When I checked, I discovered that another seasoned pen pusher, Chief Chidi Nkwopara of Vanguard newspaper, Owerri Ofice, filed the story which debuted online immediately. I will avail readers the opportunity to join the debate on the controversial Abortion Law courtesy of www.vanguardngr.com. The comments are unedited please.
Nwagwu Richard Nonyerem If Okorocha and those who supported abortion were aborted, I doubt he and them would have become governors and hon. members today. Who knows what would have been the future of these aborted babies tomorrow? Some are destined to be presidents why others great men and women. Who knows the reason why Nigeria is still suffering today, may be the one who would have been the Saviour of Nigeria had been aborted. Please the pro abortionist be careful. You have no right over the unborn babies. Whoever does such is not only wicked but DEVILISH and demonized.
Sunday Kayode Olawale This debate of abortion is only appeal to emotion of many Nigerians as result of religious fatalism,while some people derive their ideas on face value without critical evalutation of ideals.When we talk of abortion,we are saying the removal of embrayo in fuetus not baby,then,let’s ask our self,how do we derive our laws? All laws are derive from human nature”natural law”and “moral right” while lega frame work are fashion out from it. Sincerely,pregnancy is a question of will,no legal binding but moral duty,abortion should also be a question of will on the fact that,it is moral duty and any law that dictate how abortion should be carry out violate natural justice.
Nnabuk Okon Eddy Mr. Sunday, what will the embryo in the fetus becomes if it is not removed?. Will the embryo develop to a child?. A woman carrying a child has hope that the baby will be delivered at the appointed time. She nor the man involved has no knowledge of the destiny of the child but God. If we support abortion, then we should accept that we support abortion of hope and destiny in our lives. We need to be cautious in commenting on sensitive issues like this.
Anthony Chidiebere Odoh It does not end on this planet called earth. Those that do not want to toe the part of religion just to justify abortion should have a re-think. Not wanting a child does not justify his or her killing. There should be respect for human life. Whether a fetus is human or not all of us arguing in this forum passed through it. For me I do not believe this English word called bastard. It is not bride price that determines one’s paternity but DNA test. That an armed robber raped a woman and she conceives after that does not make the unborn baby an armed robber. God rides in a crooked way. If you so much wish to live allow another person to live. If the baby in the womb becomes a threat to the mother it can be removed and kept in the incubator. Finally not believing in God and his ways does not alter his existence and God cannot change his standards because of the changing world. Live and let the unborn child live let us stop every form of hostility against this innocent angels. Don’t play God.
John Osinachi It is very bad abortion is wrong abinitio
Tosan Kelvin Omatseyin Government is not a christian institution.
Mbaso Chioma · No politician is a christian. Abortion is bad
Ike Egwu Mbaso Chioma christianity has brought so much hill on earth, and if we should go by the law of christianity as you called it, we will go back to the stone age, where people are for little sin against God, you and I knows that God is a merciful God, but human being are devilish in their nature, so let’s leave politicians to do their job, we don’t know better.
Victor Ubani the law in question does not allow anybody to just get pregnant and go for abortion. there are conditions, and mind you the same priests that are kicking against it are the same pipu impregnating sisters and aborting it behind the scene. even the so called clergy, don’t they abort for their kids to hide their shame. the truth is, if it is legalised or not, it doesn’t stop pipu from aborting. the law is just to save the lives of our young ladies who go to quack doctors…
Talk2melo Awwww.sorry for Nigeria. Instead of discouraging unsafe sex Okorocha is busy legalizing abortion,i spit on this trash,too bad.
Even if you are raped or dehumanized,then the medical practitioners now know it is a special case,tell me if these people passing this law were aborted while in the womb will they ever be the leaders we have today?
PeterAdonuHilary Abortion is a sin against God and humanity. Life is divine and any human interference to it attract a curse. Anthony Chidebere Odoh has said it all(see above). No man has power over life because you can’t create one.
Emeka Ibe His decision is against the christian faith.Such laws undermine our spiritual values thus promotes immoralities in the society. It is a license to do evil! Better laws that enhance the living standard of the people should be made.
moribund9ja “………..I will not give to any woman an abortive remedy” – Hippocrates 400BC.
It’s rather difficult to understand what Okorocha is avenging in Imo state since he became the gov. It has been serially from one “I don’t take a damn” action to another by the gov. The last before this latest ‘moral obscenity’ was callous dumping of APGA that suffered so much to land him on power. He joined APC. It has really been “I don’t take a damn” all the way. Okorocha can’t be re-elected in Imo again if he’ll ever contest. It’s noteworthy that this woman, the initiator of this devilish abortion law is a yoruba. If I may be excused some tribal instincts, how many of this abortion laws have been enacted in the whole of South Western states, the yorubaland? I don’t think there’s any but let someone help if there is. But she’ll come to Igboland where she’s married to introduced a visibly morally obscene legislation because she was opportuned to be a lawmaker in the state and Okorocha foolishly fell to her moral debasement. To enact abortion law, allowing women to freely access abortion in the heart of Igboland is a tragedy to say the least. It’s more or less a tacit endorsement of a historical socio-cultural taboo. The most dreaded thing in Igbo culture is blood, but with state-sponsored legislation endorsing official termination of pregnancy at ones choice, we are now about to demystify and rubbish all that. The issue of abortion has remained an unresolved controversial debates in so many advanced countries. It’s been ongoing for years that even where it has been adopted, the larger percentage of the population were still against it.Without prejudice to the reasons and concerns given for the enactment, there has been no frequent reported cases of such abuses in Imo state and by extension in Igboland that would’ve pushed the gov into a thoughtless rush to sign the bill into law without hesitation. We know that many women have always been illicitly procurring abortion but to go ahead to legitimize it, is totally unacceptable. It’s a removal of deterrent moral burden it carries. I therefore view this latest Okorocha’s act as shameful, cultural ignorance, mere cosmetic and legislative recklessness. It must be noted that we’re still growing and should not be dealing with delicate issues like abortion law now.The scientific issue of where life does actually begin in the procreative process is still being disagreed by scientists. Pro-life sciencists agreed on fertilization while non pro-life group advanced it further to other stages to justify abortion. There’s terrific debate. What is not a debate however is that Igbo culture is anti-abortion by all definition. And whatever reasons to introduce it, is not demanding at this stage of our development. I want Mrs. Adekunle Ihuoma to sponsor a bill that will deal with domestic violence against women and children.
PeterAdonuHilary moribund9ja God bless you brother and your generation.
freeman No legacy is so rich as honesty.
TheSage4u Anybody that supports abortion of any type supports murder too. The only different is the stages and years of the victims involved. This is one of the hypocrisies of the west, but there own is hiding under women having right to what to do with their body for population control. We can’t go the way of the west. A day human zygote and 100 old person are the same human being. Only difference: stage. For one, life naturally is just beginning, and for the other, life naturally is about ending. Abort an embryo, zygote, whatever, that resulted from incest, rape or what have you; or kill somebody that resulted from incest, rape, or what have you, is one and the same. Even bringing in incense and rape it’s just for a deceit. The fact is some anti-life are after wasting of many lives, be it the one that resulted in legal copulation, as early as possible.
Chudi. A TheSage4u Completely and utterly disagree sir. A fertilized egg is not the same as a fully developed human person, please discard whatever medical journal that is telling you that, otherwise prepare for a funeral and wake keeping each time a pregnancy ends in miscarriage . Secondly, in cases where the life of the mother is at risk, for e.g in situations where the fertilized egg begins to develop at the Fallopian tube, be aware that the mother will inevitably die, with the developing baby, if such pregnancy is not terminated. There are so many other situations and cases where for medical reasons, a pregnancy is dimmed ‘Not Viable’, and these decisions are often based on assessing the mother’s health, in relation to being able to provide an environment for a healthy baby to develop.On your third point, it will be more helpful if we all join the campaign against rape, incest and other heinous crimes against the dignity of women , rather than forcing a woman to bear the psychological pain and trauma of going through such a pregnancy for nine months. I am not an advocate of all sorts of abortion, but there are cases where the only prescription to save a woman’s life is abortion, let’s not mix this with God please.
Andrea Chudi. A i do not have enough time to read your comment, but the first and second paragraph says it all. You have said my mind. thank you
PeterAdonuHilary Chudi. A Bros, we know that even mercy-killing do exist. A woman in critical pregnancy issue could be saved with two heads signing a paper secretly to save a life if transfer to incubator is impossible than publicly signing a law to guarantee abortion. It is like putting fire at the foot of the mountain yet pretending u never wanted the mountain to be all burnt. Life is sacred and people should be careful. Ok?
Chudi. A PeterAdonuHilary Sorry my friend, I am actually not talking about killing or mercy killing of any sort. Please read the comment I responded to and my actual response as we may still disagree on terminologies. If any kind of abortion is murder, then it doesn’t matter whether two or three heads are put together either secretly or openly before the procedure, it will still be murder, if I go by the point of (Mr Thesage4u).
There are no doubts that laws like this or indeed any law at all has repercussions and subject to abuses when it comes to passing it in a country of over 160 million people, I do see your point, and I will urge any governor or any government going down this part, to also ensure adequate safe guards to curtail such to its barest minimum. Life is both sacred and precious and I believe any right thinking person who has a life knows that, but that includes also that of the person carrying the pregnancy.
TheSage4u God says in the Christian scripture before you were even conceived he had determined what you would be, how much more when you have been conceived. Life even starts before conception, let alone when conception has taken place. That’s why a killer of human being will be punished for many reasons, especially as you don’t know people God has destined for the person to bear.
equitas I am pro-choice, but I find that abortion is a failure of the feminist establishment; with every kind of birth control available in the world, abortion is not something to be proud of – if you need an abortion, you’ve failed because abortion is inherently different from other medical procedures because no other procedure involves the purposeful termination of a potential life. In September 22, 1980…, Ronald Reagan said and I quote “I’ve noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born” – no matter how Gov. Okorocha paints the new law, this is Africa, a place where norms and values are upheld…we value lives here and we do not westernize our system in the name of civilization.
Cyriacus Jack Iwuji Mr governor, I use to have a lots of respect for you but this your law we are disappointed. Up on all laws the only one you choose is to be killing the innocent baby. Hmm is too sad that this law is in my state. There is many people in politicians to day their mother have them mistaken and with this your so call law they wouldn’t have been alive today. You are there to lead us not to kill us. Be way of what you legalize in your state. do not let the anger of the Lord come up on you and you members. Wrong law = yes, human egg trafficking..umm… who in his right frame of mind will want to buy human eggs from Nigeria?
kollynx! Mr Okorocha and Co… imagine if your mother aborted you, will you be able to be ruling IMO STATE as their Governor? or would you advice your own daughter to engage in such act? This will automatically encourage premarital sex in the community,…. IMO YOUTHS lets stand and fight against this Law…
Ijeuwa Women who want abortion will always go for it. Unlawful abortion endangers the lives of these women, and many of them die in the process. This is a welcome law for those who want respect for women. Let them decide what to do with their bodies in a lawful way.
Ejetavwo Mr Okorocha has suddenly forgotten that he recently gave out his daughter in marriage in the Catholic church. It is obvious that he does not subscribe to the teachings of the church and the injunctions of God. Secondly, he is not concerned about the rise in baby factory cases in Imo State and to arrest the situation. Now he has now signed into law the bill that directly permits woman’s rights to procure abortion if so desires. I hope the christian populace in imo state are alive and they must act by excercising their constitutional and political rights too against Okorocha.
jman I think dis law is over due in fact i expect dis same law in d whole Nigeria.. Am 100% in support of dis
Vita in Foolish Africans who borrow and abuse everything, without applying any rational thinking to it. Those against this Bill should go to Italy, where the Catholic church is domiciled, and ask how many abortions are performed there yearly. Africans should ask why Europeans – indeed most advanced countries – are not teeming with hopeless, malnourished and disease-infected children? I think it is better a foetus is aborted, better, pregnancy prevented in the first place, instead of bringing a child to the world and selling it or using it for rituals. The same primitive Catholics will even tell you that family planning, other than the nonsense (Natural Family Planning) prescribed by them, is a sin. But they teach this rubbish only to foolish Africans. Their own people don`t even bother going to churches any more not to talk of listening to their archaic, hypocritical teachings.By the way, I am Catholic. But I am rational enough to know what is good for me, my family and my community. – Vita in Diaspora
Igbokwenu Vita in Ok sir, please tell us why “Europeans – indeed most advanced countries – are not teeming with hopeless, malnourished and disease-infected children?” Because they are aborting them??? Your case: Lies, ignorance and/ or madness!!!
abiamone Vita in If you are a Catholic and believe in “Virgin Mary” who allegedly bore Jesus Christ without sex, you are equally guilty of the gullibility you are accusing other Africans. I have always doubted how anybody could grow up to go to university to acquire a degree and yet come out to believe in the existence of either Jesus Christ of Israel or Prophet Mohammed of Medina, two antagonistic and irreconcilable religions that have brought untold misery to mankind.
