The Centre for Gender Education ( CGE) has expressed shock over the call by United Nations Rights Chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein that the Nigerian government should have compassion on the pregnant rescued girls by granting them quick access to abortion if they so wish.
A statement by Angela Odah,executive director,Centre for Gender Education ( CGE ) noted that this call was made at the UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Boko Haram as reported by the Guardian on the 1st of July 2015.
CGE has however called on “the families of the survivors, the Nigerian Government and Nigerians not to be swayed by such blackmail.”
According to Mrs Odah, “Abortion can never be an act of compassion for any girl or woman in view of the devastating short and long term health consequences it exposes them to.
“There is no doubt that the girls and women rescued from Boko Haram captivity have suffered unspeakable trauma, dehumanization and violence.
“Abortion is not a quick fix or solution to their trauma. CGE agrees the final decision should rest on the girls and their parents” he said.
“It is important that they are provided with information and support to make an informed decision and choice. Abortion is never a solution, even in cases, of rape.
The statement noted that several studies, conducted over the last seventeen years have highlighted that abortion exposes women to grave health risks.
CGE listed the possible side effects and risks thus “cramping of the uterus or pelvic pain; nausea or vomiting ;diarrhea;warmth or chills; headache; dizziness; fatigue; inability to get pregnant due to infection or complication of an operation;allergic reaction to the medicines; hemorrhage (heavy bleeding) possibly requiring treatment with an operation, a blood transfusion, or both;incomplete removal of the unborn child, placenta, or contents of the uterus, requiring an operation; death. (Please visit :www.afterabortion.org for a comprehensive report).”
The statement argued further that “Pro choice advocates have relentlessly denied a link between abortion and breast cancer but a new study has emerged from China that seems to show that such a link not only exists but that the risk rises with each abortion a woman has. Dr Joel Brind, professor of endocrinology at Baruch College, City University of New York and a director at the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute called the findings a ” real game changer” for deniers of the so called ABC ( abortion breast cancer) link.
“Incidences of breast cancer in China have increased at an ” alarming rate” over the past two decades, corresponding with the rise of the Chinese Communist party’s one child policy. The study, titled: ” A meta- analysis of the association between induced abortion and breast cancer risk among Chinese females” was published recently in Cancer Causes and Control, a peer – review international cancer journal. The research was conducted by Yubei Huang et al. From the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital. The researchers say they were initially puzzled by their findings, stating that Chinese women ” historically” have had lower rates of cancer compared to women from western countries such as the US. They found however that incidences of breast cancer in China increased at an alarming rate over the past two decades corresponding with the rise of the Chinese Communist Party’s one child policy. The one child policy is strictly enforced and women who transgress the quota are often forced to abort. Over 336 million babies have been aborted in China since the 1980s!” the marked change in breast cancer incidence was paralleled to the one child per family policy the researchers stated. The researchers reached their conclusions after examining 36 studies that investigated the associations between abortion and breast cancer.
“The overall risk of developing breast cancer among women having only one abortion increased by 44%. Calling it the ” dose – response relationship” researchers also found that the risk of breast cancer increased as the number of abortions increased. Two abortions increased the risk by 76%, three by 89%!
According to the Centre “the most important implication of this study is that induced Abortion(IA) was significantly associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among Chinese females and the risk of breast cancer increases as the number of IA increases, concluded the researchers.
“The researchers called their findings “consistent” with those of Dr Brind, who found in a 1996 meta – analysis that women had a 30% greater chance of developing breast cancer after aborting their child.
“Of course, since life begins at conception, the lives of innocent babies could be terminated.
She thus urged “The Nigerian government and it’s health agencies should speed up comprehensive support to the survivors, pregnant survivors and their families by providing resources such as research findings, counseling and other forms of medical and material support to help them keep calm in this difficult situation and make informed choices that would lead the girls towards healing and reintegration into the society.
