In Liberia, abortion is only legal in cases of rape, fetal impairment, or risk to the mother's physical or mental health or life, up to the 24th week of pregnancy.
Deputy Health Minister Varfee Tulay said the limit would emphasize that the law intends to avoid maternal deaths rather than promote widespread abortions.
Speaking to the Women's Legislative Caucus as a proxy for President Pro Tempore Albert Tugbe Chie, Chea said his goal was to stop abortion being a criminal offense.
The proposal addressed sex education and family planning, as well as other major health issues, despite a public perception that there was a standalone bill about abortion.
Having an illegal abortion may cause more deaths because it is done in backyard clinics and sometimes we throw our babies in dumpsites because most women can't even afford a daily meal or provide a good home for the children.
"[3] The Community Health Initiative, an advocacy group campaigning for the law, worked with the national government to form coalitions and led workshops with journalists to report on the topic.
[13] The national not-for-profit organization Sister AID Liberia held media dialogues to discuss prevention of unsafe abortions.
[9] Members of Liberia's Religious Council criticized the Swedish Embassy and other organizations that funded activism supporting legal abortion.
[16] Swedish ambassador Urban Sjöström defended the country's support for legal abortion, and the embassy denied allegations of bribing lawmakers.
[10][17][18] A Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, Chris Smith, called for Liberian legislators to reject the bill and for the US Congress to investigate whether Joe Biden's administration had illegally advocated for legal abortion in Liberia.
[19] According to a report by the Ministry of Health, 38,779 abortions occurred in Liberia in 2021, equalling 30.7 per 1,000 women (of reproductive age), or 229 per 1000 live births.
[22] Many young women have performed self-induced abortions by vaginally inserting cassava, chalks, or an herb mixture known as "rocket-propelled grenade".
[26] Most cases of unsafe abortion requiring surgery are referred to the John F. Kennedy Maternity Center in Monrovia, the only tertiary medical facility in the country.
Delays in treatment contribute to the fatality rate, caused by cost of travel, fear of legal or social ramifications of abortion, or time taken by primary care.