“Pro-life” laws kill women

by Jill on 7.30.2007 · 7 comments

in Africa, Are you serious?, Culture Of Life, International, Reproductive Rights

Nigerian law is pretty much in line with what anti-choice activists would like to see in the United States. Abortion is illegal. Contraception is rarely used. The birth rate is high.

And 1.5 million Nigerian women have illegal abortions every year. Last year, 220,000 women died from illegal abortion. Illegal abortion accounts for 40 percent of maternal deaths in Nigeria.

That is what “pro-life” looks like.

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10 Reasons to Support Reproductive Justice on Roe Day - CommonDreams.org
1.22.2008 at 5:42 pm

{ 6 comments }

1 Katlyn 7.30.2007 at 8:51 pm

Yep.

And the worst part about it is that pro-lifers would never blame outlawing abortion for the deaths of 220,000 women. I can just hear them all saying, “Well, she knew it was risky. She DESERVED to die!”

Pro-life indeed.

2 Jo 7.30.2007 at 10:15 pm

This also leaves me wondering what the 1) life expectancy for women and 2) percentage of maternal deaths vs. maternal survival rates looks like in that country.

Because forced pregnancy kills women who *don’t* get abortions too, I’m thinking.

(I may have to go find those numbers, if I can.)

3 Trinifar 7.31.2007 at 3:22 am

Nigeria has about 140 million people in 2007; more than 250 ethnic groups and 4000 dialects. It’s about twice the size of California. It’s experiencing about the fastest population growth in the world (if it keeps up it will have 500 million people in 2050). It also has the ninth largest oil reserves in the world which is more of a curse than a blessing because it ensures Nigerian leaders are controlled by American oil companies and their American political friends.

If we want to help Nigeria we need to replace the current administration in the USA.

4 Vanessa 7.31.2007 at 3:12 pm

Pro-forced pregnancy people like to talk about people taking responsibility for their actions…well, these dead women are the result of the actions of a so-called ‘pro-life’ agenda. Will they take responsibility for their deaths? For the orphaned children?

5 Eric 8.1.2007 at 10:24 pm

No, Vanessa. The women are dead as a result of their own actions. Of course it’s tragic, but I don’t see how it logically follows an action should be made legal because the injury a woman may do herself in the commission of a crime. Shall we make robbing banks legal because one of the bandits might be injured in the commission of a robbery?

I’m not dogmatically anti-abortion, but this particular line of reasoning is pretty weak tea.

6 abraham 8.2.2008 at 7:31 pm

truth is… laws or not,unwanted pregnancies and abortions will take place. Lets make it safe by not making it a crime.. it’s a thin line between pro- life and pro- DEATH!

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