Debating abortion: COVAW responds

In every part of the world, women have obtained abortions to end unintended pregnancies. Despite the history and universality of women’s need for safe abortion, access to abortion is neither socially nor legally sanctioned in many parts of the world. As a result, almost half of the women seeking abortion each year - estimated at 19 million - must resort to untrained ‘service providers’ working in unsanitary conditions. A quarter of these abortions occur in Africa.

Abortion in Kenya for example is a reality that needs to be addressed in a bid to give women a fair deal in the debate. According to experts an estimated 700 illegal abortions occur in Kenya daily and this is a major cause of maternal death. In the Kenyatta national hospital, over 50% of gynecological admissions are due to self-induced abortions going sour. Consequently abortion remains one of the biggest killers of women in Kenya

The drift is not that abortion should be carried out in a careless manner but that it be legalized in certain circumstances. Legalizing abortion will not necessarily increase the incidences, in any case outlawing it has not decreased the same but instead it has led to continued deaths due to unsafe abortions.

Reproductive health is a human rights issue, which should be prioritized since it affects a majority of childbearing women. Therefore it is every woman’s right to control her own sexuality, fertility, health and well-being. Saving the lives of millions of women who die daily from complications related to unsafe abortion will be a milestone in safeguarding women’s human rights.

Mary Njeri, Campaign on Violence Against Women