By Peter Orengo
Lives of more than 2,500 women who die procuring abortions could be saved if the Proposed Constitution is passed and implemented.
A study by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance shows abortion is prevalent in Kenya despite legal constraints and religious perceptions.
Abortion is perceived as a practical solution to a problem (unwanted pregnancy) that is compounded by social stigma and the economic environment, the study found out.
The report, Teenage Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion, is a case study done in Korogocho slum in Nairobi in April last year.
The findings show 92 per cent of respondents had procured unsafe abortions, while 98 per cent were unfamiliar with the legal status of abortion.
The practice was excused, citing the following reasons: To continue with their education; abandonment by the father; economic constraints; rape; and shame or stigma.
In Kenya 316,560 abortions, spontaneous and induced, are performed each year. Young women below 20 years accounted for 16 per cent of more than 20,000 abortion-related complications treated annually in public hospitals.
Clergy questioned
The report calls for action to address the health, social and economic implications of unsafe abortion.
"In the minds of young women, the ideologies of anti-choice and pro-choice movements about when life begins are inconsequential," said KHRC Programme Officer Tom Kagwe.
Mr Kagwe questioned why followers of the clergy opposed to the Proposed Constitution were not listening to them. He also had issue with men who have been so vocal on the issue of abortion when it was not their lives at stake. "Men are noticeably absent, or are unwilling to attend reproductive health facilities, and yet have power over decisions about women’s contraceptive choices," said Kagwe.
A section of the Church has opposed the Proposed Constitution, citing the clause on abortion, which clerics claim will lead to an increase in abortion.
However, those supporting the document have argued that abortion on demand is not permitted under the proposed laws, but restricted to cases where a trained medical practitioner allows it to save the life of a mother when in danger.
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