Makeni, 27 December, 2024 / 6:35 pm (ACI Africa).
Sierra Leone’s proposed Bill that is dubbed “Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Care Act 2024” should be rejected, Bishop Bob John Hassan Koroma of the country’s Catholic Diocese of Makeni has told Legislators of the West African nation.
In his Christmas 2024 message issued on December 24, Bishop Koroma weighs in on the proposed Bill, whose proponents claim seeks to “provide for safe motherhood and reproductive health care throughout Sierra Leone”, including setting “the standards of sexual and reproductive health care” in the country.
In a December 15 meeting seeking support for the Bill that had participation from Marie Stopes, a pro-abortion international organization, proponents also said that the Bill will “provide for the right to make decisions regarding safe motherhood and reproductive health and to provide for other related matters.”
The proponents, among other justifications for the proposed bill, also want mechanisms put in place to enhance access to “family planning” in the country.
In his Christmas 2024 message, Bishop Koroma adds his personal voice to that of the members of Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL), who, in a statement shared with ACI Africa on December 20, alongside faulting the use of certain phrases in the proposed Bill, including “family planning” and “sexual and reproductive health service”, said that the Bill “gravely” contradicts religious teachings in the country and that the Bill is “clearly forbidden”.
