Abortions in Nigeria are killing women and children, robbing nation of its future

Abortion in Nigeria is a significant problem, according to a report by the Nigerian government. Despite the fact that abortion is outlawed in all cases except to protect the life of the mother, the procedure is still carried out, often by untrained physicians.

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LAGOS, NIGERIA (Catholic Online) - According to reports including officials numbers from the Nigerian government, there are nearly 800,000 abortions in that country each year. As babies are killed in their mother's womb, many mothers also die, with maternal fatalities reaching into the tens of thousands.

Even worse, agencies such as Planned Parenthood-affiliated organizations want to use these numbers as an excuse to establish clinics across the nation and weaken its moral fiber by making abortion cheap, fast, and accessible.

There are several problems with this. First, abortion is unsafe, period. Even the "safest" abortion has just a 50 percent survival rate, since half of the people who enter an abortion clinic come out alive. For the surviving mothers, physical and emotional trauma inevitably follow. This natural side-effect is never discussed, however it is a biological fact that the body cannot go from fostering a new life in the womb, complete with hormonal and physical changes, and convert immediately to a state of infertility. We are simply not designed to sustain abortions.

Abortions also dramatically increase risk of infertility and breast cancer, not to mention maternal fatalities. Nigeria has the highest rates of maternal death at about 545 per 100,000 live births.

We haven't even gotten to the moral implications of abortion, of which we are all quite aware.

Finally, abortion robs a nation of its children, and its next generation. Those promoting abortion always focus on the short-term costs of children who need care and attention. Yet, those children grow into adults who are capable of learning, working, and contributing to the greater good of a society. The next great teacher, bishop, Nobel Prize winner, or even Pope could come from this next generation of Nigerian children.

A mother may feel she does not need the child in her womb. Her family may be afraid. Yet, who will care for her in her old age? What if the world needs the child, who will become a great woman or man that is growing in her womb?

The only way to know is to cherish and love your baby, no matter how difficult the occasion may seem at the moment.

There are millions of women who regret abortions, but we are yet to meet the woman who kept her child and regretted it.

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