By Alfred Koroma
Victor Lansana Koroma reading Health Alert position statement on the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Care Bill
Health Alert and the Adolescent & Youth Mechanism have reiterated their support behind the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Care Bill, urging lawmakers to prioritize women’s health and enact the Bill.
“We stand in full support of the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Care Act as it provides a framework to address maternal mortality, access to health care, and the reproductive rights of women and adolescents,” Adolescent & Youth Mechanism says in its position statement addressed to the Chairman, Legislative Committee in Parliament.
The bill, which seeks to ensure comprehensive maternal healthcare and access to safe abortion services, has been met with opposition and sparked a nationwide debate.
In their separate position letters addressed to Parliament, the CSOs stressed the Bill to will mitigate teenage and other unplanned pregnancies.
“This Bill is not just about healthcare; it is about justice, compassion, and the promise of a better tomorrow. It is a call to action for all of us—to stand with the mothers and daughters of this nation and say, “Your life is valuable. Your health is a priority. And your future deserves to be protected,” says Victor Lansana Koroma Health Alert Executive Director,
The Bill aims to provide safe motherhood and reproductive health care by providing women the right to make decisions on whether to maintain or terminate pregnancies they do not want.
Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. According to the Ministry of Health, 3 to 4 women die every day as a result of pregnancy related complications. And teenage pregnancy accounts for 14 percent of the death rate.
Authorities have argued the Safe Motherhood Bill will reduce the death rate and reduce teenage pregnancy and unsafe abortions. But they may have to do more sensitization to change the view of many Sierra Leoneans who still see abortion as an abominable practice and regard pregnancy as a divine gift from God that should not be terminated under any circumstances.
“I believe pregnancy is God’s will. You conceive when God wants you to,” Lamrana Jalloh, 22, told Concord Times in an article published earlier this week. “If you keep taking contraceptives, by the time you’re ready for a child, God may not grant it.”
Traditional religious belief is a significant obstacle for the Safe Motherhood Bill. An attempt to pass a similar law in 2015 was blocked by former President Ernest Bai Koroma who refused to sign the Bill entitled ‘Safe Abortion Bill’ passed by the Forth Parliament after a backlash by religious leaders and pressure from a heated public debate.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Health Alert Director criticizes the religious community for hindering the progress of the law, and says their failure to preach real morality is the real cause of teenage and unwanted pregnancies in various communities across the country.
“It is my opinion that religious people themselves are the very ones responsible for what we are facing today as a country. Truthfulness is never being preached in the Mosques and Churches,” he said.
He argued that if only morality was being preached in the Church and Mosques, there would not have been a need to have a bill seeking to legalize abortion.
“I will challenge the Mosque and church that would say, teenage pregnancy has not taken place in my church and mosque,” he stated.
Despite being illegal, abortion is secretly ongoing in Sierra Leone, often performed without medical supervision and in unsafe settings as a result of the restrictive laws and poor access to sexual and reproductive health services. The practice has been linked to be a key contributor to the high maternal deaths in Sierra Leone.
But the Safe Motherhood Bill stands chances of surviving public opposition. It enjoys the full support of the current government, including President Julius Maada Bio.
On the final day of the 10th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights hosted in Freetown in July 2022, the President announced his government’s support for the decriminalization of abortion in the country.
He said Sierra Leone is proud to lead the progressive reform at a time when sexual reproductive health rights for women are being threatened in the world.
At the time, the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Care Bill’ had been drafted.
Then, Purposeful, a feminist organization for girls’ activism, co-founded by Rosa Bransky and Chernor Bah who now serves as Information Minister urged the government to ensure that the law is passed and fully implemented.
