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Sanwo-Olu suspends safe termination of pregnancy guidelines

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has ordered the suspension of the State Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications by the Directorate of Family Health and Nutrition in the Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMOH). This is contained in a statement by the Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi. Following the launching of the guidelines, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Adewale Martins, issued a statement rejecting the legalisation of abortion by the state. He said it was untrue that all stakeholders were consulted in the guidelines’ preparation. However, going by the new directive from Sanwo- Olu to put the implementation of the guidelines on hold, the state government said among the several factors that contribute to maternal mortality, illegal abortions and high-risk pregnancies leading to unresolvable complications rank high. Consequently, the LSMOH is seeking different methods to eliminate illegal abortions and ensure that a mother does not die at childbirth, thereby disrupting an entire family unit. In this regard, it became imperative to examine, in keeping with existing national and state laws and policies, if there are indeed justifications and medical reasons to offer abortion to a woman whose life is threatened by a pregnancy. Following this, the guidelines were developed over four years through painstaking work by experts in law and in obstetrics and gynaecology with a focus on creating the opportunity to reduce maternal mortality and in line with existing laws

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