The minority in Parliament has strongly opposed proposed amendments to Clause 9 of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, popularly referred to as the anti-LGBTQ bill.
The amendment seeks to remove sanctions for individuals who provide legal advice or representation to persons identified as LGBT.Â
It also proposes exemptions for journalists and media houses reporting on LGBT-related news or current affairs in the normal course of their work, as well as for professionals offering medical, surgical, psychological, or counselling services to such individuals.
Speaking in parliament on Friday May 29, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga explained that the proposed amendments are intended to narrowly define exemptions in the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, to ensure that professional services and routine activities are not interpreted as promoting LGBT activities.
“The media raised strong issues because they think that we are violating the right to free expression. Professionals such as lawyers raised strong issues that we are violating their professional freedom and violating the rights of people to legal services.
So what the committee is trying to do is to narrowly set out those exceptions where, when you speak, you will not be considered as promoting or supporting LGBT,” he said.
However, the MP for Assin South and sponsor of the bill, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, together with the MP for Bosome-Freho, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, argue that the proposed changes suggest the version of the bill submitted for assent by former President Akufo-Addo was not adequately fit for purpose.
“These are the people sponsoring, supporting, and promoting making sponsoring, making these activities rather attractive behind the scenes and even sometimes overtly. And so if I find it highly problematic, any attempt by this house to push any of these exceptions in, we will resist it. And if the house will use their majority numbers to push it through, I, as a sponsor, will advise myself accordingly,” he said.
