Liberia: ‘Abortion Would Lead to 40,000 Deaths’

Religious leaders have claimed the legalization of abortion in Liberia  would lead to about 40,000 babies “death each year.”

Abortion is currently illegal in Liberia, but the Senate is expected to vote on an amendment as to whether or not the law should be changed during their return to a special session, which starts this week.

“We are calling on all Liberian citizens to visit StopLiberiaAbortionBill.com to ask their senators to vote against this horrific Bill,” said Bishop Kortu K. Brown, speaking for religious leaders who reject the bill. 

“A change from allowing abortion in exceptional circumstances to allowing abortion on demand would lead to the lives of thousands of innocent babies being lost to abortion in Liberia every single year. This is a low estimate, the actual number could be much higher.”

Brown,  a prominent critic of the amendment position, comes a few weeks after members of Liberia’s Religious Council have strongly criticized the Swedish Embassy and others for supporting organizations that advocate for “the legalization of abortion in the country.”

The Swedish embassy, along with several international organizations,  has been actively promoting the legalization of abortion by supporting local pro-choice activists and funding campaigns that aim to change the existing laws on abortion in Liberia.

According to the Council, the action of the Swedish government was a  direct attack on the country's deeply-rooted cultural and religious values. They characterized the support for making abortion legal as an imposition of Western values.

But Swedish Ambassador Urban Sjöström defended his country and noted that they remain steadfast in supporting pro-choice activists and funding campaigns that advocate for the legalization of abortion in Liberia.

“Yes, Sweden supports decriminalization of abortion, as recommended in WHO’s 2022 Abortion Care Guideline, which recommends the full decriminalization of abortion,” Sjöström.   “Sweden recognizes that this is a complex issue in Liberia and in many countries and respects the views of the leaders of faith-based organizations in Liberia.

Under Liberia’s current law, abortion is allowed in exceptional circumstances - where the mother’s life is at risk, rape/incest/felonious intercourse, and disability of the fetus. These are rare situations. 

The Public Health Bill, which the Senate is currently looking at, would scrap Liberia’s current abortion law and replace it "with an extreme law that allows abortion, for any reason, on demand, up to when the baby in the womb is at 14 weeks gestation," Brown said. 

The proposed change comes most African countries prohibit abortion except in extreme circumstances, such as the life of the mother, rape/incest, and fetal disability. 

Most countries in the world likewise prohibit abortion except in extreme circumstances. Only a minority of countries allow abortion on demand.

According to Brown, the religious community has estimated that legalization would lead to the death of 40,000 babies every single year. 

This is a conservative estimate, as the actual number could be much higher, he said.

The data, Brown and colleagues added demonstrates that the bill would introduce a very big change to "our legislation here in Liberia" and would directly lead to the deaths of "thousands of innocent babies through abortion in Liberia."

“This bill would introduce a very big change to our legislation here in Liberia and would directly lead to the death of thousands of innocent babies through abortion in Liberia.”

“Please take action now and contact senators now via StopLiberiaAbortionBill.com and ask them to vote against this horrific bill,” Brown said.