A dispute over the sanctity of human life has arisen in Nigeria as a result of the Catholic Church’s vehement opposition to the Federal Government’s purported plan to legalise abortion.
The Federal Ministry of Health’s Health Promotion Department is reportedly examining Criminal Code provisions to decriminalise abortion, which prompted the Church to denounce the practice. According to reports, this action aims to lower maternal fatalities and increase access to safe pregnancy termination.
However, in a statement issued by the CSN’s secretary general, Very Rev. Fr. Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) publicly voiced its disapproval on Thursday.
The statement underlined that Nigeria’s Constitution, which protects the right to life, is incompatible with the legalisation of abortion. It mentioned that the 1999 Constitution’s Section 33 declares that each and every person has a right to life and that no one shall be intentionally deprived of that life.
The Catholic Church maintained that the government should concentrate on teaching people about reproductive health and the value of human life rather than advocating abortion.
They underlined that via church writings, doctrines, and communiqués, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has continuously promoted the defence of human life.
The Nigerian Catholic Secretariat emphasised the love and sacred dignity that every human being is entitled to and encouraged Nigerians to oppose the legalisation of abortion.
The statement reads, “Rather than expanding access to safe termination of pregnancy by destroying life, the government should amplify its efforts towards educating the people on the imperatives of the values and dignity of the human person.
“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.”
