TOWARDS A COHERENT FRAMEWORK: THE LAW, ETHICS, AND REGULATION OF ASSISTED FERTILITY AND ADOPTION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Infertility remains a pressing social and medical challenge in Nigeria, where childbearing is deeply embedded in cultural identity and marital stability. Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) including in vitro fertilisation, gamete donation, and surrogacy, alongside adoption, have emerged as vital pathways to parenthood. Despite their growing relevance, both ART and adoption operate within a fragmented and underdeveloped legal and ethical framework. Nigeria lacks a comprehensive statute governing ART, while adoption laws suffer from inconsistent implementation and weak oversight. These gaps expose individuals and children to significant risks, including legal ambiguities, ethical dilemmas, and systemic vulnerabilities. This paper seeks to critically examine the regulatory landscape of ART and adoption in Nigeria, identifying statutory gaps, ethical challenges, and institutional weaknesses, while proposing reforms that balance reproductive autonomy with child welfare and cultural values. The paper employs doctrinal legal analysis and comparative perspectives from jurisdictions such as South Africa, India, and Ghana. The analysis reveals that fertility clinics in Nigeria operate under minimal oversight, with surrogacy remaining legally ambiguous and fraught with unresolved questions about contract enforceability, parental rights, and citizenship. The paper calls for urgent legislative reform, including the enactment of a comprehensive ART statute, harmonisation of adoption laws across states, ratification of the Hague Convention, and establishment of centralised registries to enhance transparency and accountability.