By Doris Kathia
In recent years, Kenya has witnessed a significant legal battle concerning women’s reproductive rights. The case, filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of NAYA-Kenya and Jackline Karanja, targeted three public institutions – the Ministry of Health, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB), and the Kenya Film and Classification Board (KFCB) – for banning Marie Stopes Kenya (MSK) from providing essential information and services related to abortion care. This case highlights the importance of challenging the institutionalized stigma against abortion care and upholding the rights of women and girls in the country.
By restricting Marie Stopes Kenya (MSK) from sharing vital information about abortion care, the ban directly undermined women’s constitutional rights by denying access to safe, legal abortion services, even under circumstances permitted by the Kenyan Constitution. This ban disproportionately affected young women and girls, who constitute about half of the patients treated for complications of unsafe abortions in Kenya. Additionally, the ban hinders women’s access to post-abortion care, a form of emergency treatment that the Ministry of Health has encouraged as a strategy for addressing the high incidents of maternal deaths and injuries from unsafe abortions. Further, the ban violated several fundamental human rights protected under the Kenyan Constitution, such as the right to fair administrative action, access to information, freedom of expression, health, equality, freedom from discrimination, equal protection from the law, life, freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and human dignity.
This case underscores the need to confront and hold institutions accountable for perpetuating stigma against abortion care and limiting women’s access to reproductive health services. By challenging these institutions, the case seeks to ensure that public agencies cannot wrongfully limit citizens’ constitutionally protected rights without justifiable grounds or due process. Additionally, the case also emphasizes the significance of accurate and accessible information as a gateway to upholding women’s rights to health, dignity, life, and equality. It calls for the court to compel the Ministry of Health to disclose information proactively and fully on abortion and make accurate, transparent, and uncensored information on legal and safe abortion available and accessible.
Although the Minister for Health withdrew the ban on providing post-abortion care in December 2018, the fight for women’s reproductive rights in Kenya continues. This case serves as a crucial reminder of the need to uphold women’s rights and challenge institutional barriers that perpetuate stigma and limit access to essential reproductive health services.
To promote women’s reproductive rights, Kenya must continue to confront public institutions that restrict access to abortion information and services. The government must prioritize the implementation of comprehensive sexuality and reproductive health education and ensure that women have access to safe and legal abortion care under the conditions permitted by the Constitution. Moreover, the country must work to dismantle the societal stigma surrounding abortion care and support the rights of women and girls to make informed decisions about their health and well-being.
Ms. Kathia is a Sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) youth advocate at NAYA Kenya. (doriskathia@gmail.com)
