BREWERVILLE, Montserrado County – “Legalizing abortion equates to legalizing the killing of unborn children in Liberia,” declared Bishop Kortu K. Brown, the general overseer of the Apostolic Pentecostal Church International.
The bishop made this impassioned appeal to the President Pro Tempore and Members of the Liberian Senate during a special thanksgiving and praise service at New Water in the Desert Assembly on Sunday, August 8, 2023. The event marked the culmination of a special intercessory prayer session for peaceful, credible, and fair elections for the President of Liberia and members of the Legislature, where he engaged with the congregation.
The religious community vehemently opposes the legalization of abortion, as it fears it will transform the nation into a killing field for unborn children. Bishop Brown further illustrated his stance by drawing parallels to the biblical account of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. According to St. Luke 1:36 and verses 41 to 44, the unborn John leaped in Elizabeth’s womb upon hearing the voice of Mary, mother of Jesus. Bishop Brown quoted the scripture: “36 And, behold, your cousin Elisabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren; 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.'”
Bishop Brown strongly asserts that ending the life of an unborn baby without justifiable cause amounts to the destruction of human life. He emphasizes that while abortion is already permissible in Liberia under certain circumstances, such as rape, incest, maternal health risks, or fetal disabilities, legalizing it on a broader scale, regardless of the pregnancy stage, contradicts the sanctity of life created in the image of God. The former president of the Liberia Council of Churches firmly holds that such a life cannot be terminated at any developmental stage or due to personal desires.
Rev. Dr. Brown, who also served as the President of the Interreligious Council of Liberia (IRCL), cites scientific evidence in support of his argument. He proclaims that life commences at conception, a biological reality demonstrated by a baby’s heartbeat emerging just three weeks after conception. Noting the grim statistic that 1 in 4 babies is aborted in the womb, he underscores the demographic impact of this practice on European and other Western countries.
Expressing his dismay at the religious community’s belated involvement in the abortion legalization discourse, the forthright clergyman rebukes the concept of legalized abortion, branding it as legalized killing. He forewarns that should this legislation gain approval from the Liberian Senate, it will stand in stark contradiction to the moral teachings and religious fabric of a nation where approximately 97% of the populace adhere to Christianity and Islam, primarily conventional faiths.