Catholic bishops in Liberia split with religious council over abortion

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Liberia (CABICOL) is distancing itself from the Inter-Religious Council of Liberia over the council's support for abortion.

Key Takeaways:

• The Inter-Religious Council of Liberia (IRCL) is a faith-based religious coalition founded in 1990 by Christian and Muslim leaders in response to the First Liberian Civil War.

• CABICOL released a statement condemning the group for endorsing the New Public Health Bill of Liberia in its entirety.

• At issue is the support for abortion in the bill, which CABICOL said violates its pro-life principles.

• After CABICOL's statement, the IRCL reversed its previous endorsement.

The Backstory:

The IRLC has endorsed a draft of a public health bill that is now before the Liberian senate for consideration, which would put sweeping reforms in place. While some of the reforms are positive, such as increased maternal care and improved disease control frameworks, it also would legalize abortion.

As such, it was applauded by pro-abortion groups; currently in Liberia, abortion is legal in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality or risk to the woman’s physical or mental health. In cases of rape or incest, proof must be submitted to the court, and two physicians must attest to the medical exemption. Illegal abortions are punishable by up to five years in prison.

In 2022, the Liberian House of Representatives passed the Public Health Bill, and it is currently being debated in the Senate.

The IRLC originally endorsed the new bill in its entirety, and urged the Senate to pass it, saying the bill would strengthen public health care and improve the response to disease outbreaks.

"The passage of this bill would signify Liberia's commitment to safeguarding the health and well-being of all citizens while addressing pressing public health challenges facing the country," the council said in its statement. But after a strong rebuke from CABICOL, the IRLC has withdrawn its endorsement.

The Details:

In a statement, CABICOL strongly condemned the endorsement, saying doing so justified abortion. The bishops said:

While the Catholic Church shared some important values like justice, peace, reconciliation, human dignity, etc with our Brothers and Sisters of other faiths, we want to categorically state that we are not in agreement with the Inter-Religious Council in endorsing and requesting the passage of the New Public Health Bill of Liberia in its entirety.

Let it be recalled that on the 29th Day of August 2023, we issued a statement in which we called on the National Legislature to reconsider 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗫, 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟰𝟵. 𝗦𝗘𝗫𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 of this bill.

In line with the dictate of Divine Mandate (THOU SHALL NOT KILL, EXODUS 20:13), in line with the Teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which states that 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐦a𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝 (CCC 2319), we once more unequivocally reject the concept of 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 as contained in the New Health bill.

We call on all our Catholic Health Institutions, and all men and women of goodwill, to respect life, from the moment of conception to its natural end.

After the CABICOL statement was released, the IRLC reversed course and withdrew its endorsement, specifically saying the Liberian religious community rejects abortion.

The Bottom Line:

Improving health care is a worthy cause, but abortion — the intentional and targeted taking of a preborn life — is not health care, is not medically necessary, and can never be justified.