diff --git a/include/openssl/span.h b/include/openssl/span.h
index 3a629f79..5ed96b7b 100644
--- a/include/openssl/span.h
+++ b/include/openssl/span.h
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 extern "C++" {
 
 #include <algorithm>
-#include <cassert>
 #include <cstdlib>
 #include <type_traits>
 
@@ -136,16 +135,25 @@ class Span : private internal::SpanBase<const T> {
   const T *cend() const { return end(); };
 
   T &front() const {
-    assert(size_ != 0);
+    if (size_ == 0) {
+      abort();
+    }
     return data_[0];
   }
   T &back() const {
-    assert(size_ != 0);
+    if (size_ == 0) {
+      abort();
+    }
     return data_[size_ - 1];
   }
 
-  T &operator[](size_t i) const { return data_[i]; }
-  T &at(size_t i) const { return data_[i]; }
+  T &operator[](size_t i) const {
+    if (i >= size_) {
+      abort();
+    }
+    return data_[i];
+  }
+  T &at(size_t i) const { return (*this)[i]; }
 
   Span subspan(size_t pos = 0, size_t len = npos) const {
     if (pos > size_) {