Recently the people of Kenya have received word on the anti abortion lobby. This lobby brought about the eradication of abortion unless it is to save the life of the mother. The people of Kenya went into an uproar, while the churches were very satisfied with the decision.
The problem that I have with this decision is that it fails to support the women and young girls who are raped and abused. The article notes that during the post election violence, several women and young girls were raped and abused by the men that killed their husbands and fathers. They became pregnant and had to deal with the burden of having these men’s children. In this particular instance, why isn’t abortion a possibility for these ladies? Of course the wealthier and affluent women of the country have the possibility of seeking outside help to have safe abortions. However, for many of the girls in Kenya, this is not an option.
Much of the controversy lies between the people of Kenya and the Churches. The churches are standing by the government and advocating for this decision of no abortion unless it is to save the life of the mother. They also argue that life begins at the point of conception. I don’t know how I feel about that. I personally do not think that life begins at the point of conception. Do you guys agree? When does LIFE truly begin? Nonetheless, the churches are much satisfied with the abortion laws, while the young women and girls of Kenya struggle on a daily basis with the burdens of having unwanted/unexpected children.
In reality, this is a very sad and unfortunate situation. The government is not paying attention to the number of deaths that are occurring each year due to back alley abortions or incomplete abortions. The article states that nearly 21,000 women are admitted each year into a hospital for treatment of incomplete abortions, either spontaneous or induced. I am assuming that these numbers are of little or no importance to the government or that they are not LARGE enough for the government to realize that they need to take a different approach on their strict abortion laws.
Take a look at the article: http://allafrica.com/stories/201002030059.html