The law, which is currently generating heated debate in the state and was sponsored by the Majority Leader and member representing Ahiazu Mbaise state constituency, Mrs. Adekunle Ihuoma is to be cited as “Imo State of Nigeria, Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law Number 12 of 2012”.
The law confers on every woman the right to procure abortion at will.
The new law states in part that “every woman shall have the right to enjoy reproductive rights, including rights to medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, inc*st and where the continued pregnancy endangers the life or the physical, mental, psychological or emotional health of the mother.”
The law also states that “every woman shall have the right to take decisions about her health needs and requirements.”
In more specific terms, the law states that a woman “shall have the right to determine the processes concerning reproduction in her body.”
However, the signing into law of the bill has irked members of the Catholic Medical Practitioners Association, who argue that it is “anti-God” and therefore unacceptable.
CMPA’s position on the new law was articulated by its chairman, Dr. Phillip Njemanze, who said “the law is anti-God, dehumanizing and totally unacceptable to the association.”
“The law is devastating. With its signing into law by Governor Okorocha, abortion has been legalized in the state and anybody, just anybody can now ask for abortion as a right in the state.”
Njemanze noted that a similar bill had earlier been rejected by the National Assembly especially as it was against humanity, warning that the law could encourage human trafficking
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