The legalisation of abortion through Law No. 2021-12 amending and supplementing Law 2003-04 of 3 March 2003 on sexual health and reproduction in the Republic of Benin, was a strong decision taken by the members of the 8th legislature. This new law now stipulates that access to abortionat the request of a pregnant woman can be authorised. The conditions under which the practice is conducted are also well defined by the new law in application Despite this arsenal set up by the legislator, easy access to safe abortion is struggling to take hold and comes up against certain socio-cultural values.
In Benin, Article 17 of Law 2003-04 prohibited abortion, with three exceptions: “when the continuation of the pregnancy endangers the life and health of the pregnant woman; at the request of the woman when the pregnancy is the result of rape or an incestuous relationship and when the unborn child has a congenital malformation ”. But the Law No. 2021-12 amending and supplementing Law 2003-04 of 3 March 2003 on sexual health and reproduction in the Republic of Benin goes further with a new provision. This is an abortion that can be performed up to twelve weeks “when the pregnancy is likely to aggravate or cause material, educational, professional or moral distress”.
The 2021 law, a real weapon in the fight against illegal abortions.
Statistics from around the world, looking back at Benin, show that abortion was a dilemma. According to a joint survey by the Ministry of Health covering the period 2016 to 2020, there are about 12,200 abortions performed in Benin. Cases that have been officially notified, not including other unreported cases.
“This is to show how dramatic the situation really is. The day after this law was passed, I can tell you that not a single day goes by without up to ten requests in this one clinic. People really felt delivered,” said Dr Serge Kitihoun, Director of medical and paramedical services at the ABPF (Beninese Association for Family Promotion) in Sikècodji Cotonou.
Dr Serge Kitihoun, who was fundamentally against abortion in its early stages, gives a testimony.
I didn’t do the abortion but I referred. A scholarship of three people had to arrive in Benin and one from the public and two from the private sector were taken. And the two private ones are from the ABPF. At some point I asked myself why I was chosen. But at university, I had just accepted that to get the grades and go on to the next year. When I arrived at the training, I was still appointed team leader and when I returned home, Professor de Souza put pressure on me to provide abortion services.
But it was a day when a little girl from my neighbourhood approached me but didn’t have the courage to say I’m in this situation and I need your help. She saw me cleaning my car but finally returned. The next day, after my errands, I noticed that there was a big crowd in front of their house. Out of curiosity, I move closer to find out more. I was told that a student in the second grade was found dead in blood. This event dramatically changed my life and the value that I thought I embodied, that is, anti-abortion, changed and since that day I have been doing abortions.
Subject to all sorts of criticism, Dr Serge Kitihoun has not abandoned his cause.
Here at the ABPF, for example, when we talk about abortion, I was singled out. But when we really started the activities and awareness raising, people started to have a new perception of it. The same people who used to point fingers at me sometimes send their girlfriends to me. It’s about going beyond your own beliefs and helping people in need to access comprehensive abortion services.
Finally, Dr Serge Kitihoun, Director of medical and paramedical services at ABPF (Association for the Promotion of the Family) in Sikècodji Cotonou, called on actors at various levels to support the actions, so that the effect that the law on abortion has created in Benin, can impact other French-speaking countries. This is to enable girls and women in other countries to also have access to comprehensive abortion services.
However, certain sociological constraints still stand in the way and remain the major challenge in this area.
