By IPS Correspondents
NAIROBI, Sep 16 2003 (IPS)

Lorna Wambui (not her real name) may be scarred for life following a “back street” abortion that she had nine years ago.

“I got pregnant when I was still in college. My boyfriend fled after I told him that I had conceived. I had no choice but to terminate the pregnancy since I could not face my parents who had sacrificed so much for me,” she told IPS this week.

Wambui now regrets having terminated the pregnancy at all. “I cannot conceive due to what the doctors describe as damaged uterus. I cannot tell my husband because I’m afraid he will divorce me,” she said.

Wambui, who is a secretary in the capital Nairobi, now opposes any laws to legalise abortion in Kenya.

She was one of the thousands of Christians who last month held silent procession in Nairobi, donning bright red T-shirts and caps to symbolise the amount of blood that has been shed from acts of abortion.

Leading them was a hearse carrying two coffins, representing a mother who had died from securing an abortion, and a foetus whose life had been prematurely terminated.

The procession, which was organised by the Christian Medical Fellowship of Kenya, epitomises the dilemma surrounding a draft constitution being discussed by 629 delegates.

The Fellowship maintains that certain clauses in the draft constitution contain loopholes that might provide for legalisation of abortion.

“We want the words reproductive health care to be struck out of the draft constitution because apart from family planning and management of infertility it also stands for access to abortion services. This means we will have a pro-abortion constitution if we do not raise our voice now,” says Dr. Jean Kaggi, the Fellowship’s director.

But some experts, involved in drafting the document, deny that they are legalising abortion. “There is nothing like that. The churches have their own view,” Patrick Lumumba, Secretary of Constitution of Kenya Review Commission told IPS this week.

The debate on abortion came to the fore early this year when a section of women parliamentarians openly called for its legalisation. Health minister, Charity Ngilu, has asked the government to spearhead public debate on abortion.

She said it was unfair that women did not have a free hand in their reproductive health. “I personally feel the continued denial of women to make free choice on their reproductive health life is wrong and the policy should be reformed to allow that freedom,” she was quoted as saying by a local newspaper.

Scores of girls and women, especially those from poor background, often die in “back street” health centres trying to terminate pregnancies illegally. As a result, some Kenyans believe that a law should be enacted so that girls and women could go to public hospitals and get professional help.

Official statistics show that 700 abortions are performed daily on girls between 15 and 19 years of age, and that 5,000 women die from abortion complications each year in Kenya. But medical officials say the figure could be higher.

Unhappy about the proposal, Christian leaders have threatened to mobilise their followers to oppose any moves aimed at legalising abortion in Kenya.

Two months ago, Anglican Bishop Beneah Salalah appealed to legislators to come to their senses and oppose any move to legalise abortion, which he described as tantamount to sanctioning murder.

“This is outright murder, there is no bargaining,” remarked Kioko Mwai, a resident of Nairobi.

A poll conducted by the Nairobi-based Steadman Research Services in March showed that 81 percent of Kenyans did not want abortion to be legalised.

Abortion is illegal in Kenya. The constitution permits it only if a woman’s life is in danger. But the Fellowship argues that the doctor should also strive to save the baby’s life.

“Doctors should not only be concerned with saving the mother, but the baby as well. The baby can be carefully removed and taken to the nursery where it will be accorded intensive care,” notes Kaggi, who is also Chairperson of Protecting Life Movement, an anti-abortion lobby group.

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