Attitudes toward abortion and contraception among Nigerian secondary school girls.

A study of the attitudes of school girls in Benin City, Nigeria, toward abortion and contraception was carried out in three of the city's postprimary schools, using a uniform multiple-choice questionnaire. The findings show that although a significant proportion of the school girls had resorted to abortion to solve their problem of unwanted pregnancy, liberalized abortion law was only favored by a minority (approx. 30%). Also, although this indicated a high rate of sexual activity, their knowledge and practice of contraception and contraceptive methods is deficient and prejudiced. The latter findings may be responsible for the high rate of abortion among school girls in Nigeria.