The following is a guest submission by Kenyan June Moseti
Jackson Namunga Ali, a Kenyan nurse, was recently sentenced to death by hanging for the death of a young woman he aided in procuring an abortion. The young lady bled to death in 2009 while in the care of the nurse after a botched abortion. Judge Nicholas Ombija said the court had established that the accused caused the death of the woman and as such would be convicted for murder of the mother and the foetus too. This case has reignited the abortion debate in Kenya bringing up the age old question as to whether or not it should be legalised.
Abortion is illegal in Kenya; the Kenyan Constitution prohibits it. It may only be carried out when in the opinion of a trained health professional: there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger, or if permitted by any other written law. Only one trained health personnel is required to certify that an abortion is necessary. However this law does not in any way deter women from procuring abortions.
According to a 2012 Guttmacher institute study carried out in Kenya, an estimated 464,690 induced abortions occurred in Kenya in the same year. That equates to 48 abortions per 1000 women of reproductive age. Out of these women, 25% suffered severe complications after the abortion process. Women who had pursued abortion related care were seen to be of diverse socio-economic backgrounds: educated and non-educated, urban and rural, Christian Muslim, Hindu, married and unmarried. Although no national data exist on the impact of unsafe abortion to maternal mortality in Kenya, evidence from studies estimate that 2,800 women die every year due to abortion related complications.
Women in Kenya regardless of their status in society are procuring abortions. This is a fact we cannot hide any longer. If you sweep a house and hide the dust under the carpet it is only a matter of time before a lump forms and everyone knows where you kept the dirt. The society as well as the government cannot run away from this issue any longer. We may not have reported cases of abortion but the graves and women in hospitals are an indication that not all things are rosy. Illegality does not scare anyone from not procuring it. In fact, it only leads our young girls and women into the hands of quacks and individuals ready to risk their lives for the sake of a quick shilling.
In a recent study it was found that one out of ten pregnancies is unwanted. Google Zeitgeist also reported that ‘how to procure an abortion’ was one of the most searched for topics amongst Kenyans in 2012. Women with unwanted pregnancies are afraid to speak up due to discrimination and social stigma associated with the word or thought of abortion. In some conservative communities a young woman found pregnant before marriage may even face death. This is also an indication that there is poor dissemination of information by the relevant authorities on reproductive care and use of contraception for women. It is deeply alarming that women rely on the internet for vital information when in actual sense they should be relying on the government who is the prime protector of citizen rights.
The Kenyan Constitution in Article 43 states that ‘Every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services and reproductive health care. According to the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), couples have the right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence. Abortion being illegal in Kenya is treading on women’s right to accessing safe healthcare and in exercising their right in making decisions over there reproduction. This legislation is equivalent to fetching water using a bucket with holes. It only hides the problem not solve it. What about the individual’s right to choice?
Abortion is a matter of maternal health and reproductive rights. It in itself is legal but only becomes illegal under certain circumstances in different countries. South Africa, Cape Verde and Tunisia; who all have legalized abortion without restrictions on its reasons, have seen cases of maternal mortality due to unsafe abortions reduce over the last two years. If Kenya legalizes abortion we may be able to provide safe healthcare to young women and girls procuring abortions thus cutting off quacks for providing these services. Post-Abortion care and counselling will allow contact with these young women and help reduce repeated abortions. Maybe, just maybe, it will open a doorway for us to save over 2000 young women and girls every year.
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