US to Withhold Aid to Sierra Leone over Abortion
US foreign aid agency called the Millennium Challenge Corporation is threatening to withhold aid from Sierra Leone if the nation fails to legalize abortion. There is no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to politics or business. Now, $480 million in aid is on the line, all in the name of abortion. What gives the US moral grounds to tell other nations how to live?
The US organization believes that the African nation must pass the Safe Motherhood Act to permit abortions up to 14 weeks for any reason. Parliament passed the Safe Abortion Act in 2015, permitting abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. President Julius Maada Bio seems willing to expand these laws despite pushback. The Inter Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) composed of Christians and Muslims have been opposing extending abortion laws.
“It is deeply disturbing, but not terribly surprising, that we are hearing reports that the Biden administration is threatening to withhold foreign assistance to Sierra Leone unless legislators there pass the deceptively named ‘Safe Motherhood Act’ legislation that would legalize abortion in Sierra Leone, a country that currently protects unborn life,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said in a statement first shared with The Daily Signal. Sierra Leone could certainly use the funding, and this ploy is bending the will of desperate people.
So ahead of Trump, the Biden Administration is demanding that a predominately Muslim (78.5%) country abandon its religious beliefs and cave to their demands. The issue is not abortion but that the US is threatening to withhold aid from a vulnerable nation if it does not comply. We see this happen with countless issues throughout African nations as developed nations believe they can use money to shift their societies as they see fit.
