The Catholic Church in Nigeria, Lagos Archdiocese, has rejected the new abortion guidelines prescribed by the State govrnment.
Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Dr. Adewale Martins, described the government’s claim that it consulted all stakeholders in the guidelines’ preparation process as untrue.
The cleric added that the Church will not lend itself to any process aimed at terminating the life of a baby in the womb.
The Ministry of Health, last Tuesday, unveiled a 40-page policy document tagged ‘Lagos State guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications’.
But the Church, through in a statement by its Director of Social Communications Fr. Anthony Godonu, expressed displeasure with the guidelines.
The statement read: “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 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. There is nothing like an unwanted child because every child is a gift from God that should be nurtured and allowed to grow in fulfillment of their purpose in life.
“We need to continue to explore ways of providing support for those women who find themselves in difficulty as a result of their pregnancy, rather than thinking of aborting an innocent child.
“Any attempt to terminate the life of the unborn child is tantamount to murder and should be treated as a capital offence. Our focus, therefore, should be on proper enlightenment on human sexuality and collaboration in order to support women who get pregnant without being ready for the pregnancy.”