A Nigerian lawyer, Sunny Ekwuwusi has warned that surrogacy is a crime under Nigerian law.
Speaking on Arise TV morning show, the lawyer disclosed that putting the sperm and the egg of a woman into another woman’s womb is called “Womb Renting”.
The human rights lawyer emphasized that according to the law, it is a violation of the identity of a woman.
Supporting his claim, he quoted section 30 of the Child Act right, which says anyone involved in child buying, child selling, or child exchange, is against the law.
The lawyer believes this ultimately will lead to child trafficking, in its eventuality, and if proper care is not taken, it usually ends in what we now call “Baby factory”.
A study by The Lancet global health reveals about 40 million women between the ages of 15-49, suffer health challenges stemming from a range of birth issues, of which surrogacy is one of them.
According to UNICEF, Nigeria contributes 10% of deaths arising from childbirth in the world.
Read Also: Pope urges global ban on surrogacy
Although, he stated that there is no specific law that punished IVF in Nigeria, but condemns the act, as it falls under the same category with surrogacy.
“IVF also has to do with trafficking embryo, eggs and all that, it is okay that the social problem is solved that people want babies,” Ekwuwusi said.
“But when you look at the exploitative nature of it, especially the woman involved, it is terrible.”
The Guardian reported that the Pope urges global ban on surrogacy in his new Year speech at the Vatican.
He said “the life of the unborn child in the mother’s womb, which cannot be suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking.
“In this regard, I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs.
“A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.”
