* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Reproductive health experts in Kenya have called on the government not to pass the controversial health bill.
NAIROBI: Reproductive health experts in Kenya have called on the government not to pass the controversial health bill. They argue that it impends on the reproductive rights of women. The professionals are composed of leading gynaecologists in Kenya.
The bill has not yet been tabled in parliament but it is being discusses at executive level. The bill if passed will deny women comprehensive post abortion care. They say that certain clauses in the bill need to be reviewed by trained medical professionals before it is tabled in parliament.
“The bill has several mistakes and needs to be corrected before it can be forwarded to parliament. So far as it looks, it violates the reproductive health rights of women according to the constitution,” said Dr Carol Odula of the Kenya Obstetrics and Gynaecological Society of Kenya (KOGS).
She says that abortion is legal in Kenya when performed in an emergency or when done to preserve the life of a pregnant woman. The taskforce in the Ministry of Health has frustrated efforts to include trained professionals and experts in the drafting of the Health bill.
KOGS, an umbrella body, is composed of several leading gynaecologists with different specialties in the reproductive health sector in Kenya.
They say that several lives of women who procure abortions will be saved as they will have access to post abortion care.
“The current law in Kenya, states that only a trained health professionals can determine whether a woman can qualify for an abortion,” Dr Odula adds.
The bill which is still at its early stages will violate all these rights against the Kenyan constitution, she explains.
Currently, according to statistics, there are over 360,000 abortions conducted in Kenya resulting in over 2,000 maternal deaths and loss of reproductive organs such as the uterus, resulting in infertility.
“Many people understand that abortion is only permitted only when rape and incest occurs. There are several mistakes in the bill that needs to be corrected and medical experts be included in the debates and the bill then to be finalized,” said Prof Joseph Karanja, Associate Professor at the University of Nairobi Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department.
He says that despite abortion being illegal, it should not be completely criminalized and women have the right according to the current constitution to procure abortion in certain situations.
“Issues such as emergency contraception will no longer be allowed if the bill goes through. Women who have procured induced abortions will definitely not be eligible for post abortion care,” he explained.
He says that little access to contraceptives and many unwanted pregnancies continuously lead to abortions in the country.
“Abortion is just a simple term that the health bill states. It does not include measures that doctors can undertake when a woman has undergone or attempted an abortion,’ says Dr. Karanja.
The professionals want a full review of the bill before it goes to the legislature.
In a separate interview, the Minister in charge of Medical services in the country, Prof Anyang Nyongo said that all stakeholders need to sit down and work on the bill. He admitted that not all people who should have been concluded in the drafting of the bill were consulted.
“The health bill has been with the ministry now for quite some time.
It is still being worked on and it will be a while before it reaches parliament. We understand that there are hitches on the bill and all people who should be involved in its drafting.
“We understand that there are still many changes to be done regarding the bill, “ said the minister.
