When abortion is a crime: Nigeria
Laws should not be used to scare, shame or imprison a woman for ending a pregnancy. But in some countries, abortion is considered a crime and women are arrested and punished by the state for making a decision about their own reproductive health.
But what is the actual impact when such laws are enforced?
Women's rights are denied and thus they may be subject to a host of human rights violations — against which they are effectively defenseless. These laws do grave harm to women and to their families.
To learn more about Ipas's work on abortion criminalization and its impact, see http://www.ipas.org/abortionisnotacrime.