KENYAN WOMEN DENIED ACCESS TO SAFE ABORTION SERVICES.

In 2012, the Google Zeitgeist Report ranked abortion as top on the list of the subjects Kenyans search for in the ‘How To’ category. This clearly showed that many young girls and women were looking for information on how to abort and that abortion is real in Kenya.  

According to the ministry of health, about 310,000 abortions occur every year in Kenya. 22,000 women are admitted each year due to unsafe abortion related complications and 2,600 of these eventually die. Out of the women admitted, 12% are usually older than 34years, 40% are between the ages of 25 and 34 years while 16% are adolescents and teenagers.

Even with the new constitution, abortion is still not permitted in Kenya unless, in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is a need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger, or if permitted by any other written law. No public hospitals in Kenya offer safe abortion services. As a result, about a fifth of all pregnancies in the country are terminated through very illegal and risky means.

Women in rural areas are the most affected since they have less access to safe abortion services as compared to those in the urban settings hence have been forced to seek the services of quacks and very risky and dangerous means to terminate unwanted pregnancies.

Behind every abortion there is always an unintended or unwanted pregnancy. The high rates of abortion in Kenya can be explained by ignorance or lack of access to contraceptives. According to the National AIDS Control Council, 85% of teenage girls engaging in sex reported to abandon condom use with sexual partner of unknown HIV status as their relationship continued to grow.  Moreover, according to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2014, about 40% of married and sexually active unmarried girls and women have unmet needs for family planning.

By denying women access to safe abortion services, the Kenyan government is allowing thousands of women in Kenya to needlessly die or suffer severe complications every year due to unsafe abortion. These deaths and injuries can be prevented and must be prevented. The Ministry of Health should take decisive action to protect the health, lives, families, and future of Kenyan women and girls before more women are needlessly harmed by unsafe abortion.

Investing more on contraceptives and safer abortion services is key to ending maternal deaths brought about by unsafe abortions. As Michael Okun Oliech, a sexual and reproductive health champion once said, “Denying a woman access to critical health care can lead to devastating consequences in her life, her family, her community, and society as a whole.

(This Article was also published on Rural Reporter by Okun Oliech)