The legal framework
Abortion is prohibited under the Criminal Code in the southern states and the Penal Code in the northern states, except to save the life of the pregnant woman. Lagos State has issued clinical guidelines clarifying when the legal exception applies. Unsafe abortion is a significant contributor to maternal mortality, and post-abortion care is part of national emergency obstetric services.
Key points
| Legal basis | Penal legislation, read together with the Constitution and national clinical guidelines |
|---|---|
| Post-abortion care | Part of essential health services; must be provided without conditions |
| Contraception | Legal and provided through national family planning programmes |
| Practical barrier | Uncertainty among providers about the scope of the legal exception |
| Maputo Protocol | Ratified, requiring lawful abortion in cases of assault, incest, risk to health and serious fetal abnormality |
| Young people | Adolescent access is a recognised gap in national strategies |
| Two regimes | The Criminal Code applies in the south, the Penal Code in the north, with different wording |
| Ground | Preservation of the mother's life |
| State guidelines | Attempts to publish clinical guidelines have been withdrawn under pressure |
In practice
- Go to a public health facility for assessment; district hospitals handle emergency obstetric care.
- Seek urgent care for heavy bleeding, fever or severe pain — delay, not the law, is what causes deaths.
- Family planning associations affiliated to IPPF are the most accessible source of accurate local information.
- Keep written records of any assessment: they matter if a referral becomes necessary.
- Go to a public facility for complications; treatment is a medical duty and must not be withheld.
- Family planning services are free or subsidised in public primary health centres.
Cost and coverage
Public facilities provide care free or at low cost; NGO providers charge modest fees.
Recent changes
Across the region, the trend is towards clarifying clinical guidelines rather than amending criminal law, so what changes in practice is provider guidance, not the statute.
Where to go
- District and referral hospitals for emergency obstetric and post-abortion care.
- National family planning association (IPPF affiliate).
- Ministry of health reproductive health programmes.
Worth knowing
Health workers are bound by confidentiality, and in most of these countries there is no duty to report a patient who seeks post-abortion care. Fear of prosecution should not keep you from a hospital. The divergence between the northern and southern codes means the applicable wording depends on where you are, not on your own state of origin.
Official sources and links
- Nigeria.gov.ng — official government portal