APPRAISAL OF THE RIGHT TO ABORTION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NIGERIAN JURISPRUDENCE WITH UNITED KINGDOM.

Unquestionably, abortion is a significant social issue in Nigeria that generates more public discussion than legal action. There is continuous discussion in a number of fields advocating for legal reform, despite the conservative nature of Nigeria's abortion laws. This aim of this research is to critically compare Nigeria’s abortion laws with that of the United Kingdom. While the specific objectives are to examines the legal and institutional framework on abortion for adequacy and efficiency, evaluate and examine the effect of Nigeria restrictive laws on abortion in Nigeria on women’s health and reproductive rights and to educate Nigerians on a need for better reproductive health laws for women. This research will use a doctrinal research methodology, which involves analysing and interpreting legal rules, principles, and doctrines that relate to the topic of the rights to abortion in Nigeria and United Kingdom. This approach involves analysing primary and secondary sources of law. Primary sources of law will include relevant legislations, journals, international conventions, and case laws and secondary sources such as academic articles, online materials, and other relevant materials that provide a critical appraisal of the right to abortion. The findings of this study reveal that the Nigerian Constitution is pro-life in nature and one of the countries in the world with restrictive abortion laws. It identifies that despite the conservative nature of Nigeria Constitution, people still perform backstreet abortions daily, for instance according to available data there are over 1,000,000 abortions performed in Nigeria each year, or roughly 33 abortions for every 1,000 women who are of reproductive age. Additionally, it is estimated that 11% of maternal deaths in the nation are caused by illegal abortions, with half of these deaths occurring in young women and adolescents. It further reveal the various reasons women seek abortion such as being unable to raise a child financially or emotionally, afraid of being rejected by parents, partners, peers, religious or community leaders, or society at large, and fear of using birth control. Based on this analysis, the study concludes Nigerian abortion law is archaic and in desperate need of reform. The primary objectives of Nigerian abortion law should be to enhance the quality of maternity care by eliminating the dangers of unsafe abortion and to elevate the dignity and sanctity of human life by increasing the frequency of abortions. Keywords: Abortion, Right to Abortion, Comparative Study, Jurisprudence