Abortion is violence against women, girls

The Centre for Gender Education read with shock the call by United Nations Rights Chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein to the Nigerian government to have compassion on the pregnant girls rescued from the claws of Boko Haram by granting them quick access to abortion if they so wish.

This call was said to have been made at the UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Boko Haram.

We do not think the families of the survivors, the Nigerian Government and Nigerians should be swayed by such blackmail.

Abortion can never be an act of compassion for any girl or woman in view of the devastating short and long-term health consequences it exposes them to.

There is no doubt that the girls and women rescued sometime ago from Boko Haram captivity have suffered unspeakable trauma, dehumanisation and violence.

However, abortion is not a quick fix or solution to their trauma. The final decision should rest on the girls and their parents even though decisions could have long been taken on the issue.

However, it is important that they are provided with information and support to make an informed decision and choice. Abortion is never a solution, even in cases, of rape. Several studies, conducted over the last 17 years have highlighted that abortion exposes women to grave health risks. These possible side effects and risks are cramping of the uterus or pelvic pain, nausea or vomiting, diarrhoea, warmth or chills, headache, dizziness, fatigue, inability to get pregnant due to infection or complication of an operation, allergic reaction to the medicines, hemorrhage (heavy bleeding) possibly requiring treatment with an operation, a blood transfusion, or both, incomplete removal of the unborn child, placenta, or contents of the uterus, requiring an operation and death.

Some advocates have relentlessly denied a link between abortion and breast cancer but a new study has emerged from China that seems to show that such a link not only exists but that the risk rises with each abortion a woman has.

A Professor of endocrinology at Baruch College, City University of New York and director at the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, Dr. Joel Brind, called the findings a “ real game changer” for deniers of the so-called ABC ( abortion breast cancer) link.

Incidences of breast cancer in China have increased at an “alarming rate” over the past two decades, corresponding with the rise of the Chinese Communist party’s one child policy. The study, titled: “A meta- analysis of the association between induced abortion and breast cancer risk among Chinese females” was published recently in Cancer Causes and Control, a peer – review international cancer journal. The research was conducted by Yubei Huang et al from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital. The researchers say they were initially puzzled by their findings, stating that Chinese women “historically” have had lower rates of cancer compared to women from western countries such as the US. They found however that incidence of breast cancer in China increased at an alarming rate over the past two decades corresponding with the rise of the Chinese Communist Party’s one child policy. The one child policy is strictly enforced and women who transgress the quota are often forced to abort. Over 336 million babies have been aborted in China since the 1980s” the marked change in breast cancer incidence was paralleled to the one child per family policy the researchers stated. The researchers reached their conclusions after examining 36 studies that investigated the associations between abortion and breast cancer.

The overall risk of developing breast cancer among women having only one abortion increased by 44 percent. Calling it the “dose- response relationship” researchers also found that the risk of breast cancer increased as the number of abortions increased. Two abortions increased the risk by 76 per cent, three by 89 per cent.

In summary, the most important implication of this study is that Induced Abortion (IA) was significantly associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among Chinese females and the risk of breast cancer increases as the number of IA increases, concluded the researchers.

The researchers called their findings “consistent” with those of Brind, who found in a 1996 meta- analysis that women had a 30 per cent greater chance of developing breast cancer after aborting their child.

Of course, since life begins at conception, the lives of innocent babies could be terminated.

Abortion is a billion dollar industry and not in the strategic health interest or well-being of women and girls. Nigeria must not make the mistake the US made in 1973 with the legalisation of Abortion which has successfully led to the termination of the lives of over 55 million innocent and defenseless babies. A whole generation of boys, girls women and men denied a chance at life and an opportunity to contribute their talents to the growth and development of the country.

Nigeria cannot afford to embrace such a culture of death of its most innocent and defenseless citizens: the unborn child.

Odah is the Executive Director, Centre for Gender Education, Abuja

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