Sierra Leone defends plan to unban abortion

Sierra Leone’s information minister has defended plans to decriminalise abortion – a contentious issue in the West Africa nation.

Rahman Swaray said it was not a gimmick – and the government intended to pass the legislation.

“This is not about pleasing the international community, it’s about addressing key and critical challenges facing our country,” he told BBC Focus on Africa’s Umaru Fofana in Freetown.

He said that 14% of those who die during child birth did so because of unsafe abortions – many of them teenagers.

Sierra Leone has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, according to the UN, with 1,360 mothers dying for every 100,000 live births.

Abortions have been banned in Sierra since 1861. In 2016, MPs did pass a bill to decriminalise them, but then-President Bai Koroma blocked the legislation after protests by religious leaders.

Speaking at a conference on sexual health last week, current President Julius Maada Bio said his government would try again at a time when sexual reproductive rights for women were under attack – a reference to the US Supreme Court’s recent overturning a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.

Some believe President Maada Bio’s words were just for international ears. But Mr Swaray insisted the president did “not showboat” and the new legislation would be drafted and tabled in parliament.