By Adebowale Johnson
The Global Prolife Alliance (GPA) has written to the National Assembly (NASS), opposing the passage of a bill for an act to protect the health and well-being of women, particularly in relation to surrogacy and for related matters sponsored by its member.
The group stated that “following a thorough examination by our interdisciplinary working groups on medical ethics, national security, and religious doctrine, we have identified grave deficiencies in the Bill that pose serious threats to the health and dignity of Nigerian women and violate the deeply held religious principles of our nation.
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In a petition signed by its chairman, DR Philip Njemanze, the group raised medical and ethical concerns. The group stated: “Legalization of ovarian egg harvesting will endanger the lives of Nigerian w.omen. The Bill explicitly states in Part I, Section 2(b): ‘Applies to all women involved in surrogacy arrangements, including surrogate mothers, intended mothers, and egg donors.’
This clause opens the door to the systematic harvesting of human eggs, a procedure requiring repeated high-dose hormonal stimulation. This process is medically known to cause Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS)—a dangerous and sometimes fatal complication.
“Medical research from Nigeria has shown that the incidence of OHSS among IVF patients ranges from 11.7% to 15%. This translates to approximately 150 women out of every 1,000 egg donation cases potentially suffering from kidney failure, liver damage, stroke, cancer, or death.
“Extrapolated to Nigeria’s population of over 250 million, expert modelling predicts that more than 10 million Nigerian women could die within a decade from complications linked to egg donation if legalized. Disturbingly, illegal egg donation is already common in Nigerian secondary and tertiary institutions.
“Internal circulars—such as those from the University of Ibadan—have warned of the grave health risks involved. To legalize such a practice under commercial frameworks is tantamount to state-sanctioned exploitation of vulnerable Nigerian women.”
The group stated that the Bill intends to commercialise egg donation through ambiguous language.
Consider this from the group: “The Bill claims to prohibit commercial surrogacy in Part III, Section 5, yet contradicts itself in Section 2(b) by permitting: ‘…the right to informed consent, medical care, and compensation for expenses related to the pregnancy and childbirth.’
This language is ambiguous and deceptive. Could a payment of ₦10 million be disguised as ‘reasonable compensation’? Such vagueness will inevitably open the floodgates to commercialization, encouraging poor women to become rented wombs.
“Moreover, the Bill fails to mandate independent oversight, proper health screening, or psychological counselling. There is no requirement to ensure that women are informed of the life-threatening risks associated with surrogacy and egg donation.”
The GPA argued that weak penalties encourage exploitation and child trafficking as contained in the Bill. “According to Part V, Section 9(c), violations of surrogacy regulations attract only a ₦2million fine or two years’ imprisonment. This is alarmingly lenient. The financial incentive to ignore regulations, complete an illegal surrogacy, and sell the resulting child for ₦5 million or more is dangerously high. This clause effectively legalizes child trafficking under the guise of reproductive assistance.”
The petition mentioned the religious and cultural and cultural prohibitions: “Christianity affirms that children are the fruit of marital love and that conception must occur within that sacred bond: ‘Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward (Psalm 127:3) ‘You shall not commit adultery’ (Exodus 20:14)
“By separating procreation from the marital act, surrogacy and egg donation violate both the dignity of the human person and the integrity of the family. Authoritative Catholic teaching in Donum Vitae (1987) and Dignitas Personae (2008) condemns such procedures as morally illicit, reducing women to biological instruments and commodifying human life.
“Islamic law emphasizes the preservation of lineage (nasab) and confines reproduction to within the bounds of legal marriage: ‘Let no mother suffer harm on account of her child, nor father on account of his
child.’— Surah Al-Baqarah 2:233. ‘Call them by the names of their fathers: that is more just in the sight of Allah.” -Surah Al-Ahzab 33:5
“In 1985, the Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League declared all forms of surrogacy haram (forbidden) because they violate the sanctity of the womb (rahm) and result in confusion of lineage.”
The group further stated the Bill has national security and international implications:
“Legalizing surrogacy and egg donation would transform Nigeria into a fertility tourism hub, exposing poor women to foreign exploitation. If enacted, the Bill would:
“Encourage transnational reproductive trafficking syndicates, subject poor Nigerian women to exploitation by foreign fertility clinics, generate international bioethical scandals damaging to Nigeria’s reputation, institutionalize egg harvesting and organ trafficking, as previously legalized under the National Health Act 2014
“This Bill is allegedly sponsored by international biotech cartels, who aim to poach the ovarian eggs of Nigerian women to serve the $30 trillion global human organ and tissue cloning industry. These same global foundations are behind efforts to destabilize Nigeria’s agricultural sovereignty by promoting Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).
The National Biosafety Act 2015, which legalized GMOs, was similarly backed by foreign biotech interests.
“The involvement of private military contractors in training armed groups has further endangered rural communities—especially those resisting GMO agriculture. This exploitation strategy includes an emerging and chilling pattern: the ‘Egg for Food’
scheme, in which rural women are coerced into trading their fertility for GMO seeds, with devastating health consequences.”
The GPA, therefore, recommended to the honourable members of the National Assembly as follows: Reject the Surrogacy Bill in its entirety; repeal the National Health Act 2014; repeal the National Biosafety Act 2015; convene a Joint Committee Hearing on the medical, ethical, religious, and legal ramifications of surrogacy; enact comprehensive legislation banning all forms of commercial surrogacy, egg harvesting, and foreign fertility exploitation; and enshrine the dignity of women, the sanctity of life, and the protection of natural
procreation in Nigerian law.”
The group concluded: “This Bill, though cloaked in the language of protection, is in fact a license for the commodification and exploitation of Nigerian women. It offers legal cover for a global
biocapitalist agenda that threatens our national values, health, and security.
“The blood of Nigerian women must not become the price of foreign fertility profiteering. Let Nigeria rise to uphold the sacredness of life, the dignity of womanhood, and the integrity
of the family, as commanded by God in the Bible and in the Qur’an.”
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