Parliament has amended sections of the Criminal Offenses Act of 1960 that criminalised attempted suicide.
Following the amendment passed on Tuesday, anyone who attempts to commit suicide will be considered to have a mental health problem that requires legal assistance.
Ghanaian health specialists have been campaigning for the law to be altered, claiming that attempted suicide is a medical problem that requires medical attention rather than incarceration.
Nonetheless, several politicians were opposed to the initiative to decriminalise attempted suicide.
The former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, called suicide attempts in 2019 as undesirable behaviour that should be penalised and discouraged.
He argued that criminalising suicide attempts will go a long way towards convincing Ghanaians, particularly the youth, that there is no benefit in killing oneself.
Every year, about 1,500 suicides are reported across the country.
