A Sociolegal Analysis of Reproductive Rights and the State in Nigeria

Reproductive rights occupy a contested space at the intersection of constitutional rights, religious doctrine, customary norms, and state interest in Nigeria, where the legal framework governing reproduction is simultaneously restrictive and unevenly enforced. This study conducts a sociolegal analysis of reproductive rights and the state in Nigeria, examining the legal architecture, state practices, and lived reproductive rights experiences of women across the country. A feminist sociolegal paradigm underpins a multi-method design combining doctrinal legal analysis of constitutional, statutory, and case law, institutional analysis of health ministry reproductive health policies, 60 in-depth interviews with women, lawyers, and health practitioners, and survey data from 250 women on reproductive rights knowledge and experiences. Feminist jurisprudence, reproductive justice theory, and sociolegal studies methodology guided analysis. Findings demonstrate that Nigeria's reproductive rights framework is characterised by a fundamental contradiction between constitutional rights commitments and operative restrictions rooted in patriarchal health regulations, restrictive abortion laws, and inadequate maternal health obligations. The state is shown to perform reproductive rights rhetoric in international forums while actively limiting reproductive autonomy domestically through regulatory and budgetary choices. Women's lived reproductive rights experiences vary dramatically by state, religion, and socioeconomic status in ways the formal legal framework does not predict. An original Reproductive Rights State Theory for Nigeria is developed. Keywords: reproductive rights, sociolegal analysis, Nigeria, feminist jurisprudence, state