By Foday Moriba Conteh
It could be recalled that in December 2015, the Parliament of Sierra Leone unanimously passed the Safe Abortion Bill 2015 into an Act and sent it to the Office of then President, Ernest Bai Koroma, for his assent.
However, immediately the Bill reached State House the Inter Religious Council of Sierra Leone, which comprises Christian and Muslim leaders and being the most prominent religious civil society organization as well as some members of the public raised an objection to the signing of the Bill by the former President.
In response to the IRCSL’s opposition the then President refused to sign the Bill and then sent it back to Parliament with a Memo.
One of the main issues highlighted in the memo were inadequate consultations with stakeholders and member of the public on the said Bill.
Against that backdrop and considering the significance to recognize and promote sexual and reproductive health rights of women in line with the Maputo protocol a consortium named People’s Alliance for Reproductive Health Advocacy (PARHA) in 2017 kick-started a campaign for the enactment of a Safe Motherhood Bill geared towards enhancing sexual and reproductive health rights of women in the country in line with the Maputo protocol.
PARHA is a Composition of NGOs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Community Based groups (CBGs), Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) Trader Unions, Professional Bodies and individuals working around SRHRs issues and has constituted a nationwide membership of over 50 CSOs and individuals across all districts in the country.
The consortium was established in 2017 and exists to influence SRHR policies in Sierra Leone through constructive engagement, dialogue and partnership. The thought of establishing the coalition took inspiration from the several appealing data reported on maternal death, Unsafe Abortion, Teenage Pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, Sexual & Gender Based Violence and other Human Rights abuses/violations (all being SRHR related issues) presented by both the Government of Sierra Leone and her development partners. The founding organizations thought it fit to come together as a unified body to work with both the Government and other development partners to design a pathway to curb the malaise around the several SRHR issues
mentioned.
Pushing for the Safe Motherhood Bill to become a law is part of the consortium’s strides in ensuring that the country has competent and adequate human resources, appropriate physical infrastructure and internal systems capable of delivering and promoting adequate and equitable sexual and reproductive health services in the country.
It is in that light that this medium decided to engage citizens in order to seek their views on the need for the enactment of a Safe Motherhood Bill in the country. It must be noted that many who spoke to this medium in relation to the said issue supported the motion of the enactment of the Safe Motherhood Bill.
Speaking to this medium, Family Planning 2030 Youth Focal Person for Sierra Leone, Marian Pleasant Kargbo, described the Safe Motherhood Bill as very vital towards the protection of women rights in the country.
She added that the Safe Motherhood Bill is beyond abortion which people are more concern about of which she said the Bill has a lot of good things for women, furthering how the issue of unsafe abortion continues to plague us as a nation lamenting that women and girls are dying as a result of the gap or lack of a law in that direction.
She further highlighted the need for a collective approach in engaging key stakeholders especially the Inter Religious Council of Sierra Leone and Honorable Members of Parliament on issues relating to the Bill.
Marian stated that currently Sierra Leone is experiencing an increase in teenage pregnancy and maternal mortality of which she said that having a Bill like the Safe Motherhood Bill passed into legislation will greatly help to regulate the sexual and reproductive aspect of women in the country especially at a time when the country is battling with a very poor health system maintaining how such will be a move in the right direction.
A SSS 3 Pupil who spoke to this medium on the condition of anonymity maintained that unsafe abortion is particularly common among them as teenage girls, adding that with the enactment of a Safe Motherhood Bill it will address the issue of teenage girls doing unsafe abortion that sometimes lead to dire consequences.
She also added that unsafe abortion is rampant among young women in the country due to many factors including stigma, societal pressure and the lack of resources, furthering that another big factor is because it is not regulated but said if there is a law that supports abortion those anomalies will be addressed.
A Trader at Congo Market, who also happens to be a mother, who also threw light on the enactment of the Safe Motherhood Bill, said that there is a need to have a law on sexual and reproductive health in order to protect the rights of women in the country.
She maintained that with the enactment of the Safe Motherhood Bill the issue of unsafe abortion which has led to the loss of lives in the country will be mitigated.
“As a mother of two daughters I am in support of the Safe Motherhood Bill which I believe is geared towards protecting the rights of not only my children but other children as well for the betterment of the country,” she concluded.
This medium will continue to sound the views of Sierra Leoneans as to whether it is appropriate for the enactment of the Safe Motherhood Bill in the country.
