World Of Africa
Dec 23, 2025
Video - 4:44 minutes
Abortion is illegal in Sierra Leone unless the mother's life is at risk, pushing many women to drastic and dangerous lengths to terminate a pregnancy. A bill to decriminalise abortion, introduced in parliament last year, has stalled with little sign of revival
Continued: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM-oP_SkG0k
ODI Global
Nov 24, 2025
Based on three case studies from across the African continent, this research explores the politics of anti-gender backlash against sexual and reproductive health and rights. By sharing insights from three country contexts: The Gambia, Kenya and Sierra Leone, these case studies offer a clear analysis of the salient economic, social, political and cultural factors that defined the legislative outcomes of rights-based initiatives in each nation.
Each paper sets out to understand the stakeholder motivations, political economy and foreign influences that shaped the debates over three legislative proposals relating to LGTBQI+ rights, access to safe abortion, and a ban on FGM. Within a context of intensifying backlash to women’s rights in a world defined by rollbacks to legal protections and slashed spending on ODA, this research aims to support international development actors seeking to better assess opportunities and obstacles to their initiatives on gender rights.
10 September 2025
International Confederation of Midwives
Midwife advisors from the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) recently travelled to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to work alongside the Sierra Leone Midwifery Association (SLMA) as part of the Collaborate for Women (C4W) Abortion and Contraception care Together (ACCT) initiative. Their visit marked the beginning of a series of capacity-building workshops designed to promote the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women and girls, in line with Competency 2 of the Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice.
Over three days, 31 participants, including midwifery educators and clinical midwives, gathered to strengthen their clinical skills and understanding of rights-based care. Many had travelled long distances from remote rural provinces, where they are often the only skilled providers available. While already experienced in delivering essential services, they were eager to strengthen their capacity to provide family planning (FP) and Post-abortion Care (PAC) services and protect women’s autonomy, privacy, and confidentiality, and to ensure that care is always based on free and informed consent.
27 August 2025
By Kaata Minah
At least 29,000 women and girls globally die every year from complications from unsafe abortion. In Sierra Leone, out of the 150,000 unintended pregnancies that occur every year, 90,000 end in abortion. Out of these, 8 in 10 abortions end in complications or death. These aren't just numbers. They are people, and their deaths are preventable.
Just as with many laws on gender equality and reproductive health across the African continent, Sierra Leone adopted its statutory legal framework from the former colonial administration, which remains to date. Abortion is criminalised by the Offences Against the Persons Act of 1861. There are heavy penalties for anyone who procures or facilitates another in the termination of a pregnancy. Although there are exceptions established in Rex v. Bourne, which allow for medical termination in cases where the life of the mother or the baby is at risk, these remain highly restrictive and out of reach.
By CAITLIN KELLY
March 24, 2025
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — When she got pregnant at 16, Fatou Esther Jusu was terrified that it would derail her future.
Abortion is illegal in Sierra Leone. Fearing judgment from her family, she took friends’ advice and bought misoprostol, a drug whose uses include abortion, from a local pharmacy. It didn’t work. Desperate, she tried again and miscarried.
“I went to the toilet… and the baby came out,” she said. She fainted and was taken to a hospital, where she pleaded with doctors not to tell her parents.
Continued: https://apnews.com/article/sierra-leone-abortion-legalize-health-77dd89c92bfea5ed84db2d42acbebc5d
From religious groups to a lack of adequate sensitization, the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Healthcare bill faces a range of challenges that could further endanger the people who need it the most.
February 18, 2025
Nelson C.J.
Sierra Leone is close to rewriting its future. The West African country is considering passing a bill safeguarding safe abortion rights and reproductive health. The Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health CareBill was first introduced in 2024 and culminates efforts from women's movements and campaigns beginning with the Safe Abortion Act (2015), which faced obstacles in the legislative arm.
This new bill proposes a comprehensive and inclusive approach to safe abortion procedures in Sierra Leone, a country where a large percentage of the country's mortality rate (one of the highest in the world) is caused byunsafe abortions.
Continued: https://www.okayafrica.com/sierra-leone-safe-abortion/
Fayia J. Moseray
February 4, 2025
Sierra Leone’s proposed Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health (SMRH) bill, which has been laid before the country’s House of Representatives (known as the Well of Parliament), has attracted a fierce debate between the ‘moralists’ in the society and those in support of legalising abortion.
The country’s religious community, on one hand, and the citizens, on another, are up in arms against what they describe as an evil bill, a situation which has necessitated broader consultation with the government through its Ministry of Information and Civic Education (MoICE)
Continued: https://dubawa.org/sierra-leones-proposed-abortion-bill-and-matters-arising/
Religious extremists from the US are bolstering local opposition by pouring money and messaging into the country under the guise of supporting ‘family values’
Dr Ramatu Bangura
Sat 25 Jan 2025
Sierra Leone is on the precipice of making history in its parliament this week. A new bill being debated would see a deadly centuries-old British colonial law abolished and monumental strides made to protect the safety of women and girls.
For a country where sky-high maternal deaths are a national emergency, the safe motherhood and reproductive health care bill is a lifeline. The new legislation would decriminalise abortion and provide that any girl or woman, regardless of economic status, can seek the reproductive care needed from a qualified medical professional – whether that involves the decision to conceive, to access contraception or to make the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy.
By Agnes Aineah
23 December, 2024
The Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) has opposed a draft Bill that seeks to legalize abortion in the West African nation, noting that the Bill “gravely” contradicts religious teachings in the country.
According to IRCSL members, the Bill titled “Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Care Act 2024” is a violation of the sanctity of life as protected by existing Sierra Leonean laws.
Abortion is illegal in Sierra Leone, forcing women to abort unwanted pregnancies via dangerous practices. The consequences can be fatal
By Tom Collins
13 December 2022
Fanella Bola lay against the perimeter walls of a hospital in Sierra Leone and cried at the thought of going through with her pregnancy. The 17-year-old had been turned away from almost every hospital in the capital city of Freetown, where abortion is illegal.
As she dried her tears and prepared to trudge home, the schoolgirl was approached by a market woman who said there was another way.
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