-Koijee tells the Liberian Senate.
By: Jerromie S. Walters
Jefferson T. Koijee, the Secretary General of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and City Mayor of Monrovia, has strongly emphasized the party and government lack of interest, in any bill or communication that seeks to legalize abortion in Liberia.
During a news conference at the party’s headquarters in Congo Town, late Tuesday, September 12, 2023, Jefferson Koijee called on the Liberian Senate to abstain from any act that supports the legalization of abortion in Liberia.
“We don’t support abortion. We believe in the fate of reproduction,” he said and further emphasized that the administration is interested in having a higher population than what the country has. “We don’t want no abortion bill,” Koijee admonished the Liberian Senate.
According to Jefferson T. Koijee, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and the Weah administration is completely against the act.
“We want you to be aware, as a party, we are convinced and we stand against any act to legalize abortion.”
He stressed, “We don’t want our population to be reduced, we want our population to increase,” he said and further stressed that population growth has a significant impact on the state.
As disclosed by Koijee, the CDC administration is grateful to her international partners for their support to the government, but they will not support them in any endeavor of such.
He informs the government’s international partner that the government is in total disagreement regarding any act of abortion.
The 54th National Legislature of the Republic of Liberia Tuesday, August 22, 2023, kick-started a special Session, and from the end of the Liberian Senate, President Pro-Tempore, Albert T. Chie, named several items that would have been considered, including the continuation of the debate on the amended Public Health Law, which includes the amended abortion law, for concurrence.
Liberia’s amended Public Health Law (Title 33 of the Liberian Code of Law Revised) which includes a provision on abortion currently being considered by the Liberian Senate for passage into law, would ban abortions after 18 weeks of gestation. However, it was not discussed till the Senate climax the special session last week.
Controversies
Like several other reactions, some group have said, “Pressure mounting against extreme abortion bill that will end an estimated 40,000 lives each year in Liberia.Members of the public throughout Liberia are being encouraged to visit www.StopLiberiaAbortionBill.com to ask their senators to vote against the Bill.”
“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.”
Many believe that the Public Health Bill “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.”
They have reported that, “It has been estimated that this change from allowing abortion in exceptional circumstances to allowing abortion on demand would lead to the lives of 40,000 babies being lost to abortion in Liberia every single year. This is a conservative estimate, the actual number could be much higher.” Liberians believe this data demonstrates that 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.
“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.”
Liberians’ position
Since the abortion news surfaced the public space, there have been mixed reactions, as health experts have suggested that it be minimized to 12 weeks, while scores of women have defaulted completely with justifiable abortion, as they believe it is ungodly, unsafe and shouldn’t be tolerated in an African society like ours.
This, we established following interviews we conducted with individuals from different backgrounds, who vehemently condemned the legislation, and called on the legislature to divert from the discussion of amendment of the law, to a total ban, which they said could be followed by an awareness on the need for contraceptive.
Patricia Wollor is a resident of central Monrovia, she frowns at the amended law that’s before the senate, and like several other Liberians, she holds a strong belief that abortion should never be tolerated in Liberia. This position of hers, was justified by her experience of howscores of young women have met their early demise, as a result of abortion.
If the Senate concurs with the House of Representative on the amendment of the abortion law, Patricia Wollor is optimistic that it will expose more young to the act.
This, she doesn’t see right, as she’s experienced to the fact that abortion itself has multiplicity of complications on women, even if it doesn’t end their life.
Tarnue Kollie D. Seaboe, a resident of Carey Street, “When I heard that it was going to be debated in the legislature, I was one of those that got irritated, because as a Christian, it is against my religion, no Christian or believer will really support such, whether amendment or not, I’m against it in totality.”
In his view, “It should be thrown in the dustbin, we will not support that kind of thing, if those guys make any attempt to pass it into law, we will be heading for destruction because it will affect us.”
“I don’t even want to hear about amendment, the idea, it must not even be passed into law.” For him, he can only embrace the idea of abortion being prohibited in Liberia, despite a given circumstances.
Global public health experts, Dr. ll weigh-in on Liberia’s Amended Public Health Law.
Tolbert Nyenswah, LLB, MPH, DrPH and Mardia Stone, MD, MPH, believe any abortion laws in Liberia should consider 12 weeks gestation, the first trimester of pregnancy, as the cut off point for elective abortions. According to them, it gives a woman sufficient time to confirm that she is indeed pregnant and address all issues relating to her pregnancy… whether impregnated through incest, rape, or other criminal acts …that would legally support her desire to safely obtain an abortion.
“The health risk of an abortion is directly related to how, when, where and by whom the procedure is performed. Therefore, health authorities should setup safe abortion clinics with trained providers, equipment, logistics and supplies.”
They have said because of intrusive legal restrictions and stigma, many young teenage girls and women seeking abortions in Liberia, often resort to clandestine procedures, where safety cannot be assured.
Tolbert Nyenswah, LLB, MPH, DrPH is an international recognized legal scholar and global public health expert, a faculty member in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prior to joining the Bloomberg School, he was Deputy Minister, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Health of Liberia, and Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia. Mardia Stone, MD, MPH is a senior consultant and advisor in the Division of Global Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center. A global public health expert, she is formerly a WHO consultant in emergency preparedness and response, an Ebola Response Team Coordinator, senior and technical advisor to the Incident Manager of Liberia’s Ebola response and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia.
Liberia current abortion law/status
The current penal law (Title 26 – Liberian Code of Laws Revised, chapter 16), however, allows abortions up to 24 weeks gestation (about 6 months of pregnancy). The old Title 33 has been in effect since 1976, over four decades, without any revision, rendering it obsolete. Abortion is illegal in Liberia as per the current law.
Like the women whose views were gagged, abortion is considered a sin by the majority of Liberians who identify as Christians and Muslims. Just like the timing, it is considered with a few exceptional cases such as when the life or health of the mother is at risk.
Sweden’ heightens efforts for abortion legalization in Liberia
It can be referenced, the regular session of the 54th Legislature adjourned on Friday, the 21st day of July, 2023 and, during that same week, the Government of Sweden disclosed that it remains steadfast in supporting pro-choice activists and funding campaigns that advocate for the legalization of abortion in Liberia even though it “respects the views of religious leaders” who oppose abortion.
The Swedish position, which was made known by Ambassador Urban Sjöström, comes a few days after members of Liberia’s Religious Council strongly criticized the Swedish Embassy in Liberia for funding campaigns that push 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,” Sjöströmsaid in response to an email from a local daily, seeking comments.
“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.” Abortion is illegal in Liberia as per the current law, if it is done after 23 weeks.
Like the women whose views were gagged, abortion is considered a sin by the majority of Liberians who identify as Christians and Muslims. Just like the timing, it is considered with a few exceptional cases such as when the life or health of the mother is at risk.
The Swedish Embassy, and with several international organizations, have 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.
