Catholic Church Rejects FG’s Alleged Plan To Legalise Abortion

The Catholic Church in Nigeria has rejected alleged plans to decriminalise abortion by reviewing some sections of the country’s criminal code.

The Health Promotion Department of the Federal Ministry of Health allegedly revealed the plans at a summit organised by the Media Health and Rights Initiative of Nigeria.

This move is reportedly aimed at expanding access to safe termination of pregnancies and reducing maternal deaths.

But in a statement by the Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Very Rev. Fr. Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi, the Christian body rejected the move.

The statement stated that legalising abortion contradicts Nigeria’s Constitution, which guarantees the right to life. It also noted that Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution states that, “Every person has a right to life and that no one shall be intentionally deprived of that life.”

The Catholic Church said instead of promoting abortion, the government should focus on educating citizens about reproductive health and the dignity of human life.

The CSN urged Nigerians to reject the alleged plan, saying: “Rather than enthrone the culture of death through the legalization of abortion, the government should place a premium on the sacred dignity and love that should be accorded to the human person, which is guaranteed by natural law and divine commandments and affirmed in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“It is safer to have human dignity included in the curriculum than to work against it in the name of providing access, shrouded in the garb of human freedom. The more we know and value the dignity of the other person, the more society will seamlessly live in peace and harmony.

“The Catholic Church and all ethically-minded people oppose all forms of abortion procedures whose direct purpose is to terminate the life of a baby in the womb. The unborn child has the right to live and be protected and not to be killed by the fiat of an unjust law. We believe strongly that every human life must be respected and protected, especially the most vulnerable ones in the womb from the moment of their conception.”