Women, Violence and Power Structure in Nigeria: A Case for the Legalisation of Abortion Laws in Nigeria

In Nigeria, there are laws restricting abortion and to that extent the procurement of abortion is deemed to be illegal. Unfortunately, available evidence has shown that abortion is being carried out by women on regular basis despite the enabling laws against it. Arising from this development, this study examined abortion laws in Nigeria and the factors influencing the procurement of the abortion amongst women. Some hypotheses were tested and the study discovered that the enabling laws do not in any way restrict or deter the women from carrying out abortion in Nigeria. Data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire and similarly, Chi-square statistics was used to analyze this study, 393 respondents participated in this study. 171(44%) respondents agreed they are aware of the abortion laws in Nigeria. 84% of this population would opt for an abortion if confronted with an unwanted pregnancy while only 16% said they will be prevented by the presence of the law. 192(49%) respondents are unaware of the existence of abortion laws; while 90% of the population will ignore the law if they have to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. Only 10% said they will be prevented by their knowledge of these laws. This paper therefore recommends the legalisation of abortion laws in Nigeria. This is being suggested against the back-drop of the many complications that have arisen with clandestine abortions when women had to resort to quackery in the event of unwanted pregnancy.