Classification of Infertility in Woman as a Disability Under Nigerian Law

Abstract

Infertility in women was ranked the fifth highest serious global disability among populations under the age of 60. In Nigeria a woman’s worth is defined mainly in terms of her ability to bear children and though infertility is not lethal, it is a radical life changing problem that carries with it significant psychological trauma. Although women and men tend to be equally susceptible to infertility, women are often blamed for the infertility so most treatments are focused on women who bear the burden of infertility as childless women suffer discrimination and other untold hardship. Once the cause of infertility is known, treatment by Assisted Reproductive Technology is expensive and unregulated. Nigeria ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities 2007 domesticated as the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 but failed to recognize infertility in women as a disability. The paper adopted the doctrinal research methodology and interrogated the propriety of classifying infertility in woman as a disability. The paper is structured into seven parts. The paper found that the right to marry and found a family is a human right and recommended legal reforms to protect women with infertility in Nigeria.

Key Words: , ,