“Thou Shall Not Kill”: Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Liberia Rejects Abortion Bill, Calls on Legislature to Remove “Justified Abortion” Clause
BY: Rufus Divine Brooks Jr.
MONROVIA — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Liberia [CABICOL] has rejected provisions of the New Public Health Bill of Liberia related to abortion, breaking ranks with the Inter-Religious Council of Liberia which endorsed the bill in its entirety.
In a statement issued Sunday, June 7, 2026, on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, CABICOL said it “unequivocally rejects the concept of justified abortion” contained in Chapter 49, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Part X of the bill.
Position Differs From Inter-Religious Council:
CABICOL said its attention was drawn to a recent statement by the Inter-Religious Council of Liberia requesting passage of the New Public Health Bill in its entirety.
While acknowledging shared values with other faiths — including justice, peace, reconciliation, and human dignity — the bishops said the Church cannot support the bill as currently drafted.
“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,” the bishops wrote.
Biblical and Doctrinal Basis:
The bishops referenced their August 29, 2023 statement calling on the National Legislature to reconsider Chapter 49.
They grounded their opposition in Exodus 20:13, “Thou shall not kill,” and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches 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].
“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,” the statement read.
Call to Catholic Institutions and Citizens:
CABICOL urged all Catholic health institutions and “all men and women of goodwill” to respect life “from the moment of conception to its natural end.” The bishops invoked John 10:10, “that all may have life and have it to the full,” and sought the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.
The statement was signed by:
- Most Rev. Anthony Borwah, President of CABICOL/Bishop of Gbarnga
- Most Rev. Andrew Jagaye Karnley, Bishop of Cape Palmas
- Most Rev. Archbishop Gabriel Blamo Jubwe, Metropolitan Archbishop of Monrovia
