Available statistics relative to abortion in Africa especially Ghana is staggering. The laws of Ghana, just like many other countries, forbids abortion. Ghana’s law permits abortion in cases of rape, incest or the “defilement of a female idiot;” and also if the life or health of the woman is in danger; or if there is risk of fetal abnormality.

Abortion is the cessation of pregnancy or fetal development. Though illegal, abortion is still on the increase partly owing to the fact that lots of women deem it as personal requirement. This prompts them to perpetuate this act in secrecy. The result?  The precious lives of these women are endangered, giving room for abortion and mortality to have something in common. Abortion can occur spontaneously. In this regard it is referred to as miscarriage. When it is induced then it gains it proper recognition as abortion.

Many countries, especially those in West have legalized abortion. However anti abortion groups which are refracted through religious bodies and the society are working assiduously to have the laws repealed.

Many people employ simple to crude way of terminating their fetus, including the administration of concoctions, strong alcoholic beverages (brandy), fasting, weightlifting, diving, the use of irritant leaves, etc in countries like Ghana where abortion remains illegal. These methods were adopted and practised in primitive communities but are still prevalent today.

Some resort to surgical technique but fall prey to unqualified doctors whose techniques become as brutal as non surgical methods aforementioned. Since modern society has plunged into an unprecedented decadence which is conversely proportional to the level of abortion, the time has come for policy makers, religious bodies and the society at large to review the law to make any form of abortion permissible—I think.

For the purpose of clarity and a discerning perspective on the subject, I have demarcated this write up into segments, each forming a broader scope of understanding.

Religious Outlook

Religious bodies have stringent rules that frown on abortion. Thus a strong injunction has been squarely placed on this act.  Any Christian, regardless of her denomination is reproached severely or at worst ostracized from the church when she gets pregnant before marriage. As a result, many of the congregants secretly use abortion to remain loyal to their church.

Ironically this rigid stance has rather raised the aggregate on abortion. The Bible makes no direct reference to abortion though Moses, writer of Exodus said a man who causes a woman to miscarry may be fined. (Exodus 21:22-24). The holy Quran has a subtle approach to abortion. It recommends abortion for a woman up to 120 days after conception.

Early Christians were prohibited from terminate the life of their foetus. Great thinkers like Aristotle and Saint Augustine shared identical beliefs with regard to this subject and were unequivocal when they said  terminating “abortion animates, a foetus with human limbs and shape, was murder.”

The Societal Perception…

The society stance on abortion is highly hypocritical. This school of thought believes abortion is homicide. They consider a foetus as a human, hence the need to preserve them.  Poverty induces poor families to practice abortion in order to control their size. Since they are not unable to feed and provide basic necessities for their children; abortion becomes an option even in the face of any rigorous law.

In many instances African men trigger abortion, but as usual they tend be insulated from the law, in terms of criminalization. They promise women marriage but soon after the discovery of any pregnancy they abandon them. For fear of giving birth out of wedlock and the disdain with which the society will accord them, some women are driven to cause abortion.

Considering the rapid change of the Ghanaian society, do you think it’s time to join the West and legalize abortion?