**3.2 Section 229**

Any woman who, with intent to procure her own miscarriage, whether she is or is not with child, unlawfully administers to herself any poison or other noxious thing, or uses any force of any kind, or uses any other means whatever, or permits any such thing or means to be administered or used to her, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

### **3.3 Section 230**

Any person who unlawfully supplies to or procures for any person any thing whatever, knowing that it is intended to be unlawfully used to procure the miscarriage of a woman, whether she is or is not with child, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for three years.

#### **3.4 Section 297**

A person is not criminally responsible for performing in good faith and with reasonable skill a surgical operation upon any person for his benefit, or upon an unborn child for the preservation of the mother's life, if the performance of the operation is reasonable, having regard to the patient's state at the time and to all the circustances of the case.

#### **3.5 Section 328**

Any person who, when a woman is about to be delivered of a child, prevents the child from being born alive by any act or omission of such a nature that, if the child had been born alive and had then died, he would be deemed to have unlawfully killed the child, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for life.

Post Abortion Care Services in Nigeria 129

It is clear from these Codes that the performance of induced abortion in most cases, except when the life of the woman is at risk, in Nigeria constitutes felony punishable with jail terms that my even be as severe as life sentences! The effect of this no doubt is that abortion practice is driven underground creating the enabling environment for the clandestine

Post Abortion Care (PAC) was developed to stem the maternal mortality and morbidity arising from unsafe abortions especially in countries with restrictive abortion laws. It is defined as an approach for reducing mortality and morbidity from incomplete and unsafe abortion and resulting complications, and for improving women's sexual and reproductive health and lives (Post abortion Care Consortium Community Task Force, 2002). It was first articulated by Ipas, US based non-governmental organization, in 1991, and later published by the Post Abortion Care Consortium in 1995. However, the role of safe abortion services in the improvement of women's health was recognized in the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). At this conference, participants agreed that "in circumstances where abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be safe. In all cases women should have access to quality services for the

The original PAC model consisted of three elements drawn specifically from health care delivery providers perspective without taking due cognizance of the need to accommodate the psychological and physical feelings of the client as well as the community who are the beneficiaries of the services. The three elements of the original PAC model include the

1. Emergency treatment services for complications of spontaneous or unsafe induced

3. Links between emergency abortion treatment services and comprehensive reproductive

However in 2001, the PAC Community Task Force expanded the model to five elements, tailored to provide the necessary ingredients for sustainable PAC services by making them

1. Community and service providers partnership for prevention of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion, together with the mobilization of resources and ensuring that

2. Counseling to identify and respond to women's emotional and physical health needs

3. Treatment of incomplete and unsafe abortion and its complications including the use of

management of complications arising from abortion" (ICPD, 1994).

2. Post abortion family planning counseling and services; and

services reflect and meet community expectations and needs;

activities of quacks to flourish.

**5. Evolution of post abortion care** 

**6. Elements of post abortion care** 

health care provider perspective.

more client-oriented. The five elements are:

manual vacuum aspirator (MVA);

and other concerns;

following:

abortions;
