Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio has told the 10th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Freetown on Friday that his government had approved a draft law that would decriminalise abortion in the country.

According to President Bio, the law would guarantee the health and dignity of all girls and women of procreation age in the country, adding that, after the US Supreme Court removed American women’s constitutional right to abortion.
Bio said he was “proud” that Sierra Leone was implementing a “progressive reform” while women’s rights in sexual and reproductive health were being overturned or threatened.

The President noted that Parliament will debate and vote on the legislation.

The conference’s main organisers welcomed the move as a major step forward for women and rights groups in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone is one of the countries in the world with the highest maternal mortality rates. According to reports, health authorities estimate that high-risk abortions cause around 10 percent of maternal deaths in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone’s current abortion law dates back to 1861, a century before it won independence from Britain. It bans the procedure unless the mother’s life is at risk.

In 2015, parliament adopted a law on safe abortions, but the president at the time, Ernest Bai Koroma, refused to approve it due to pressure from religious groups.