Church faults draft over right to life

By Gakuu Mathenge

The Catholic Church has faulted the Committee of Experts (CoE), for alleged failure to define the right to life in the Harmonised Draft Constitution published last week.

The General Secretary of the Episcopal Conference, Fr Vincent Wambugu, told the Standard on Sunday the Church would not be satisfied until the document "clearly defines the sanctity of human life".

"It should be clear on sanctity of the human life, ensure life is properly safeguarded and protected. A good constitution should be clear on rights and duties, and where life begins and ends. Life does not hang in the air; it begins and ends somewhere. There can be no legislation that says otherwise," he said on telephone.

The Church will issue a comprehensive statement soon after studying the document.

Article 35 of the Bill of Rights (Chapter 6) of the Harmonised Draft states: "Every person has the right to life; And a person shall not be arbitrarily be deprived of life."

However, Wambugu faults the Draft for not defining "when life begins and when it ends".

In May, the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, through its chair, the Reverend Bishop Zachaeus Okoth, presented its recommendations to the CoE, in which it said the new constitution "must recognise, and therefore protect, the dignity of the human life from conception to natural death".

"It is a fact human life begins at conception. Each and every human being, therefore, has an inalienable right to life from conception to natural death," the CJPC memorandum said.

Unlike the Bomas and Wako Drafts, the Harmonised Draft does not mention abortion or when it could be procured.

The Bomas Draft had three clauses under article 34 under Right to Life: "Every person has the right to life; Life of a person begins at conception; Abortion shall not be permitted unless prescribed by a registered medic to save the mother’s life.

The Wako Draft says in Article 35: "Every person has right to life except as may be prescribed by Parliament. The life of a person begins at conception; Abortion shall not be permitted unless provided for by an Act of Parliament.