Rev. Ntim Fordjour
The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, which is popularly known as anti-LGBT Bill, has been read for the first time in Parliament following its formal reintroduction in the Ninth Parliament, reigniting debate over one of the country’s most controversial legislative proposals.
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor, who was presiding over proceedings, referred the bill to the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee for consideration, with the leadership of the Human Rights Committee asked to join in the exercise.
The bill, which was passed by the Eighth Parliament in February 2024, lapsed after it was not assented to by the President. Speaker of Parliament, Alban S. K. Bagbin, earlier told the House that the legislation has now gone through the necessary processes required for its reintroduction.
He explained that following the inauguration of the Ninth Parliament, he referred the bill to the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice for review and comments. The Attorney General’s office submitted its observations in April 2025, which were subsequently forwarded to the sponsors for consideration.
Mr. Bagbin further disclosed that in February 2025, a group of Members of Parliament formally notified the House of their intention to reintroduce the bill.
The sponsors include Samuel Nartey George, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, John Ntim Fordjour, Helen Adjoa Ntoso, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, Dr. Tiah Abdul-Kabiru Mahama and Anthony Mmieh.
According to the Speaker, the reintroduced bill was subjected to legal scrutiny in line with the Standing Orders of Parliament. He added that a legal opinion submitted in March 2025 indicated that the proposed legislation falls within the legislative competence of the House.
Earlier, co-sponsor Rev. Ntim Fordjour described the bill as a Private Member’s Bill that is not new to Parliament, noting that it had already been passed by the previous Parliament after extensive consultations and debates.
Citing findings from the Centre for Democratic Development’s (CDD-Ghana) Afrobarometer survey, he said 93 percent of Ghanaians consider the practices, promotion and propagation of LGBTQ+ activities to be repugnant to the country’s moral and cultural values.
He explained that the bill seeks to remove what he described as ambiguity surrounding the definition of gender, affirming the binary classification of male and female as assigned at birth.
According to him, it also aims to protect marriage as a union between a man and a woman and preserve the family system in line with constitutional provisions and societal values.
Rev. Fordjour argued that legal constraints had previously prevented the transmission of the bill to Jubilee House for presidential assent, adding that those constraints have since been addressed.
He described the legislation as bipartisan and expressed optimism that Parliament and its relevant committees would treat it with urgency, given that it had already undergone significant legal scrutiny, including challenges before the Supreme Court.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House