Abortion
| Abortion in Kenya Tuesday, 08 November 2011 IntroductionAbortion is recognized as an emotive, sensitive and even divisive issue all around the world. The case is no different here in Kenya. This was really brought to light during last year’s referendum for a new constitution where the church, who were at the forefront of the NO Campaign, wanted a strong anti-abortion law included while at the same time there was a strong pro-abortion wave that stood against the Church’s stand. But before understanding the abortion situation in Kenya, it is important to first know a few facts and statistics about the Kenyan population. Kenya’s population on the most recent count is 41.6 million. This means the country has doubled its population in the last two decades. This is caused largely in part by a birth rate of about 36 births/1000 population (compared to the UK that’s at 12 births/1000). The population growth rate is at 2.5% per year. This roughly translates to 1 million people being added to the population every year.Continuing with...(455) Read more... |
| Abortion: Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice Thursday, 01 September 2011 By PhoebeReading the abortion argument that the pro-choice bring forward makes me wonder if they respect life at all. When an unborn child is referred to as an ‘invader’ and the writer was once a fetus too totally beats me! The pro-choice have what I would refer to as ‘bizarre’ claims they use in their bid to fight for the right to abortion.Just to mention a few, the pro-choice scholars claim that:-abortion is necessary to women’s health and well beingabortion is done in self defense abortion is a parenting decision that mothers make when they realize they cannot take care of the unborn or disabled child. I would like to illustrate my concern using one of the local stories here in Kenya, then try to relate with the above claims.‘An 18 year old girl was found dead after her mother took her to a clinic to get abortion. The doctor responsible of the procedure went into hiding after realizing that he had made a mistake resulting to complications that led to the death of the young...(653) Read more... |
| Abortion Scope Widened Thursday, 21 July 2011 The new constitution consists of clauses that were considered contentious by some groups before the referendum. The abortion clause was included among these. Article 26(4) states “Abortion is not permitted unless, 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." This clause was argued to have relaxed the calibre of those who can offer the abortion to any health professionals, which may include; midwives, community health workers, clinical officers, nurses just to mention but a few. The delicate procedure being entrusted to anybody would see an increase in maternal death than decrease. The provision of saving the life or health of a mother during the pregnancy period was argued to be risky since child birth is actually life threatening in itself.The wording of the article was feared to have presented a loop hole that could be misused and allow for...(370) Read more... |
| Abortion in Ethiopia Friday, 29 April 2011 Abortion in EthiopiaEthiopia like any other country is also struggling with issues concerning abortion. Abortion is illegal in Ethiopia except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger, but illegal abortions are easy to obtain and widespread. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), complications arising from illegal abortions are now the second leading causes of death after tuberculosis for young women in Ethiopia. The death rate from illegal abortions is a staggering 1,209 per 100,000 abortions and estimates show that some 70% of women, who are brought to hospital suffering from serious problems after back street abortions, will die.A number of factors contribute to the high death rate, including a lack of access to contraception, a very low literacy rate among women (only about 14% of women are literate), and Ethiopia’s poverty level. These problems caused by unsafe abortions are also having an impact on overstrained health services in the country, where health...(298) Read more... |
| Abortion in Uganda Wednesday, 27 April 2011 Abortion in UgandaAbortion is illegal in Uganda except to save the life of the woman. Nevertheless, many women obtain abortions, often under unhygienic conditions, and the practice is quite common: about 300,000 induced abortions occur annually among Ugandan women aged 15-49 and a large proportion of these women require treatment for post-abortion complications. The Ugandan Ministry of Health is considering the recommendations of a report it commissioned into the safety and legality of abortion. The report proposes legalizing abortion in specific cases such as rape. Illegal abortion in Uganda contributes to a high ratio of maternal mortality In the male-dominant culture of Uganda, where men control most of the financial resources, men play a critical part in determining whether women receive a safe abortion or appropriate treatment if they experience abortion complications.From a research carried out in the country, respondents' descriptions of men's involvement in women's...(345) Read more... |