Sierra Leone legalizes abortion, could save countless lives

Women with unwanted pregnancies in Sierra Leone will no longer have to undergo unsafe abortions after parliament passed a law which activists said on Thursday would save countless lives in the country with the world's highest maternal death rate.

The Safe Abortion Act, passed on Tuesday, made the procedure legal and replaced an 1861 law that banned abortion in the West African nation except when it was necessary to save the mother's life.

Around one in 70 women in Sierra Leone dies during or shortly after childbirth, the World Health Organization said.

One-third of these deaths are . . .

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