Sierra Leone is on the brink of legalising abortion. We must not allow the US far right to infiltrate and stop us | Dr Ramatu Bangura

QIRRA LEONE individually made history in Parliament this week. A new bill being debated would see a deadly, centuries-old British colonial law overturned by huge strides made to protect the safety of women and girls.

For a country where sky-high maternal mortality is a national emergency, the Maternity and Reproductive Healthcare Bill is a lifeline. The new legislation would decriminalize abortion and provide that any girl or woman, regardless of economic status, could seek necessary reproductive care from a qualified medical professional — whether that involves pregnancy.

For Sierra Leone’s feminist movement, this is the result of decades of frontline campaigning — from the 2015 safe abortion law that was eventually blocked by the legislature, to the president’s declaration, Julius Maada Bioin 2022 from unanimous Cabinet support, to parliamentary readings in December. Now, we could see a final vote in the next two weeks.

We have cried tears of anger for all the lives lost to the unnecessary deaths on abortion clinics’ back tables, and the hope for the new kinds of lives we might build when our choices are enshrined in law.

However, we also see a very familiar pattern from within the power corridors. The state’s duty to protect half of our population is met with a backlash from the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL)—the Archbishop, influential Christian and Muslim clergy, and representatives from the country’s Megachurches—forcing parliamentarians to reveal one of the most important human rights issues for women and girls.

Once again, basic human rights can no longer be guaranteed. It is the same right-wing vocal targeting and religious tactics that have been ripping across the continent – ​​well-financed and tightly coordinated – masquerading as “family values.” IRCSL takes its cues and talking points from right-wing religious extremism in the United States, with Money and letters Poured into our country that reflects word for word coming from there. This right-wing religious agenda aims to infiltrate important political discussions in countries like Sierra Leone to bolster the global power of the American right.

None of this is unique to our country; It is reflected in a fundamentalist attempt to decriminalize it Female genital mutilation in the GambiaOr extreme Anti-gay laws in Uganda and Ghanaand other regressive legislation being pushed across the African continent at a speed and scale that is breathtaking in its sheer audacity.

Sierra Leone has one of Highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Every day, up to four women and girls die from preventable pregnancy complications. Unsafe abortion contributes to about 9% Of these maternal deaths, tragically, most of these unsafe terminations result in severe complications or death. Teen pregnancy is still high and affecting Just over 22% of girls aged 15 to 19 years ,configuration Approximately 10% of births And half of the maternal deaths in the country.

These are not just statistics: these are mothers, daughters and sisters who should not have to risk death because of the agenda of those who limit their access to reproductive care. Those of us who fight for the health and well-being of women believe that even one death is too many. In a country where, right now, it is the elite who reach out to provide quality medical care to mothers and quietly pay the costs of terminations, we fight more for the girls and women on the front lines of poverty – for those who die on back-door abortion tables and who risk their lives, forced To resort to secret procedures.

The IRCSL would have the nation believe that women desperate enough to terminate a pregnancy deserve the death penalty, and that only women who report incest or rape have the right to exercise their reproductive rights. This opposition, which aims to gut key provisions in the bill, creates deliberate barriers to health care designed to control rather than protect the poorest women and girls.

It also attaches the verb in the balance, the purposeful, the agency of segmentation, and the alliance of people for the sake of procreation health The advocacy continues to call for justice, calling on the government to prioritize the women of Sierra Leone, and shutting down far-right extremists at home and in the United States who are trying to limit our rights. Women’s health issues simply should not be up for debate, and the Safe Maternity Bill is not only an answer to the health crisis, it is a political and moral imperative.