Group urges Ogun to legalise safe abortion guidelines

By Olugbenga Ige

A women’s advocacy group, Trust and Support Foundation, has appealed to the Ogun State Government to fully back Safe Termination of Pregnancy guidelines, to protect victims who seek safe medical termination, not only when the lives of the women are at stake.

The Executive Director of TSF, Victoria Madukwem, stated this during a two-day Strategic Media Advocacy-Influence Training for Journalists on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, jointly organised by TSF and Amplify Change, held in Sango-Ota, Ogun state, according to a statement made available on Thursday.

She said in many communities, conversations around SRHR, Abortion, maternal health, gender-based violence, and access to reproductive health information were often surrounded by silence, fear, judgment, and harmful stereotypes.

The Executive Director emphasised that the STOP policy was crucial in reducing maternal deaths and protecting the health rights of women and girls, saying that the continued delay of the STOP guidelines or documents hinders the realisation of fundamental rights and puts the lives of countless women at risk.

She said, “Our appeal to the Ogun state government is simply to legally back the STOP guidelines. Indeed, the guidelines on safe termination of pregnancy for legal indications are landmark steps towards standardising medical practice and building the capacity of healthcare personnel to provide safe care within the existing legal framework in the state.

She further said that the role of media in shaping public understanding and policy support was very crucial in society and the community at large, saying that the guidelines would help reduce maternal deaths caused by unsafe procedures.

“Indeed, the media remains one of the most powerful tools for public awareness, social change, and accountability. The story you tell, the language you use, the questions you ask, and the narrative you promote can either reinforce stigma and misinformation or open the door for compassion, evidence-based discussion, and policy reform,” she said.

The guest speaker at the training, Wemimo Adewunmi, said that the full implementation of STOP by the state government would serve as an objective of saving women from preventable deaths and denying victims of sexual and gender-based violence, such as rape and incest survivors, the comprehensive medical services that are their right.

She noted that for survivors of rape and incest, access to safe termination of pregnancy was not merely a medical procedure, but a pathway to reclaiming bodily autonomy, mental health, and the right to a life of dignity, adding that the guidelines would also serve as a mechanism to free victims from the ongoing trauma of forced pregnancy.

She further stated that the current legal impasse leaves many women vulnerable to unsafe procedures, which contribute significantly to Nigeria’s high maternal mortality rate, appealing to the government to allow medical professionals to provide care confidently within the law, while ensuring standardised post-abortion treatment.

According to her, “The law would ensure that the guidelines explicitly cater to survivors of rape and incest, recognising the grave physical and psychological risks of forced pregnancy in such cases. It will prioritise women’s health and rights over political or religious sentiments, and recognise that the guidelines are a public health imperative to prevent avoidable maternal deaths.”

Adewunmi hailed the Ogun state government and states that have demonstrated progressive leadership by actively implementing similar guidelines, or taking steps to clarify provisions that enable women to access their sexual and reproductive health rights within the boundaries of the law.

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She noted that such steps are vital to protecting women’s lives and upholding their fundamental rights.

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