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A legal luminary, Ace Ankomah, says though abortion is illegal under Section 58 of the Criminal Offences Act now Criminal Code of the 1992 Constitution, one does not necessarily need a court order to engage in the practice. According to the Accra-based legal practitioner �it is irrelevant whether a court recommends an abortion or not. It should be at the request of the victim, or her parents or her next of kin (in loco parentis). If the girl is under-aged the consent of her parents is needed, they don�t need a court order,� he told Kwami Sefa-Kayi in an interview on PEACEFM�s �Kokrokoo�. Ace Ankomah was sharing his thoughts on a case where a court has ordered that a 15-year-old girl, who was defiled by two friends and impregnated in the process, should undergo a legal abortion. The Circuit at Goaso in the Brong Ahafo Region presided over by Mr. Osei Kwame, gave the order with the consent of the girl�s parents to enable her to continue her education, she is in primary class six. Under Section 58 of the Criminal Code, �any person who aids in abortion in any other form or by providing medication, leading to the cause of the death of the child, has committed an offence against the law and is liable to prosecution and subsequent imprisonment to a term of not less than 5 years.� But the constitutional lawyer argues rather strongly that, �if a pregnancy results from rape, or defilement, or incest, the next of kin of the victim can request for an abortion.� He added that, �if the pregnancy will risk the life of the girl or will in any way affect the physical or mental state of the girl or pose a substantial risk to the unborn baby leading to either a serious physical abnormality or disease�.under these three circumstances if a registered gynecologist or registered medical practitioner at a government hospital or private hospital gives the approval, then the abortion can go ahead,� he stated.