Monrovia – Liberian lawmakers are mulling a bill to widen access to abortion in the West African country, where it is currently severely restricted and many women resort to dangerous backstreet procedures.
A joint senate committee on June 13 began debating the bill, which would set the country on course to legalise abortion in most circumstances, up to 12 weeks.
Under current laws, abortion is only legal in cases of rape, incest or foetal anomaly, or to save the life of the woman or preserve her physical or mental health.
The medical exceptions require the written approval of at least two doctors, while rape and incest must be proven in court before a procedure can take place.
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In all other cases, abortion is considered a crime, punishable by up to three years in prison.
“Our discussion is focusing on not making abortion a ‘criminal offence’ [and] amending the penal code, which could make abortion legal,” said the health committee chair, Senator Augustine Chea, who introduced the proposed legislation during committee work.
“The bill will seek to legalise abortion in the country,” she said in a speech to parliament on June 9.
Women who do not currently qualify for legal procedures sometimes seek dangerous abortions by unqualified practitioners, which can cause injury or death.
Liberia has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, with 1,072 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births as of 2017, according to the UN.
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Despite the restrictions, women in Liberia have wider access to abortion than those in many other countries in the region, including neighbouring Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, according to the US-based abortion research organisation the Guttmacher Institute.
If passed, the bill would cement Liberia’s position as one of the most liberal countries in West Africa on reproductive rights.
Benin’s parliament last November voted to legalise abortion in most circumstances, one of only a handful of African countries to do so.
Following the Senate joint committee debate, the proposed legislation will be submitted to both houses of parliament for a vote.
If passed, it will go to the president to be signed into law.
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Picture: Pixabay
Source: AFP
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