The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos Most Rev. Adewale Martins has criticised the state government over its guidelines in carrying out abortion.
The state government recently unveiled a 40-page policy document titled ‘Lagos State guidelines on safe termination of pregnancy for legal indications.’
In a statement signed by the archdiocese’s spokesman Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, Martins said all stakeholders were not consulted in preparation of the guidelines.
The church called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to stop the implementation of the guidelines it has made public on the process to follow for abortion in the state.
The statement said: “The Catholic Church and all ethically-minded people oppose all forms of abortion procedures whose direct purpose is to terminate the life of a baby in the womb
“The unborn child has the right to live and be protected and not to be killed by the fiat of an unjust law.
“We believe strongly that every human life must be respected and protected especially the most vulnerable ones in the womb from the moment of their conception.
“There is nothing like an unwanted child because every child is a gift from God that should be nurtured and allowed to grow in fulfillment of their purpose in life.
“We need to continue to explore ways of providing support for those women who find themselves in difficulty as a result of their pregnancy rather than thinking of aborting a child who is innocent of the difficulty that the mother may be going through.
“Any attempt to terminate the life of the unborn child is tantamount to murder and should be treated as a capital offence. Our focus, therefore, should be on proper enlightenment on human sexuality and collaboration in order to support women who get pregnant without being ready for the pregnancy.”
The church added that the guidelines were nothing but ways to carry out abortion indiscriminately.
