[5] Many Nigerian women seek unsafe abortion methods to avoid criminal and social penalties, leading to abortion-related complications and increasing mortality and morbidity rates in the country.
In 1975, the National Population Council further advocated for women's access to safe and legal abortion on the basis of promoting the health and well-being of the mother.
At the yearly SOGON convention, the Prime Minister of Health gave a speech noting the possibility of national reform of abortion laws.
[13] In 1981, the National Council of Women's Societies countered SOGON's proposed bill regarding the termination of pregnancy, preventing it from reaching the House of Representatives.
The National Council of Women's Societies expressed that more efforts should be put towards family planning education and prevention of pregnancy outside of marriage.
[14] The Campaign Against Unwanted Pregnancy (CAUP) was created in 1991 with the mission of defending women's sexual and reproductive rights and eliminating unsafe abortion.
From 1999 to 2004, CAUP organized many workshops and lectures on sexual health and women's rights with the hope of empowering Nigerian citizens with the knowledge to lead a healthy lifestyle and advocate for change.
[16] Despite the combined and continued efforts of various Nigerian and International advocacy groups, only a woman whose life is endangered can undergo a legally performed abortion today.
[17] Many regions in Africa are known for their unsafe practices in health care and disease, specifically when it comes to young pregnant women and abortion.
[18] Although unsafe abortion practices do affect most of the sexually active women in the country, it is believed that adolescents may require special circumstances and could be a reason for change in this area.
Hospital-based dilatation and curettage, hospital-and clinic-based manual vacuum aspiration, and medical abortion using misoprostol are all considered to be huge cost savings and ultimately in the mother's best interest.
Prior to women practicing these medically safer and more cost-effective methods, the rate of self-induced abortions was extremely high relative to other countries and regions.
The side effects of using other methods have proved to be damaging to the mothers, resulting in high fevers, urinary tract infections, and genital trauma.
There are also issues where the women who did induce their own abortions did so incorrectly and could have caused other complications by overdosing on misoprostol – a method that is most commonly used safely and cost effectively.
An important aspect to take into consideration is that Nigeria is a region where there are low health system requirements and where they strive to use non-surgical options.
[20] In 2022, Reuters reported that the Nigerian military conducted a mass-abortion program at least since 2013 in Northeastern Nigeria, where women separated from Islamic insurgents who had impregnated them.
[19] Another reason for the high rates of unwanted pregnancies in Nigeria is lack of family planning which cause most women not to take their contraceptives.