The recent events in Kenya surrounding the parliamentary committee's completion of deliberations on a draft constitution -- which defined life as beginning at conception and omitting language that would support everyone's right to reproductive services -- is a major setback for progressive language surrounding the topic of abortions for this country. These actions fail to recognize the value of women and also fail to acknowledge the rights of women in this country while giving rights and protecting the unborn.

I strongly believe that a woman should be able to control her body and have the right to make decisions regarding her personal reproductive health for her own life as well as family. As women practice their right to choose, others must learn to trust and honor their decisions about their bodies and lives. Personal reproductive decisions should be made at the free will of the woman, not governed.

Women in Kenya face great challenges as abortion is permitted only to save the life of the mother. Many are forced to resort to unsafe methods of terminating their pregnancies. Creating hurdles and restrictions around abortion services simply leads to the rise of unsafe abortion practices and consequently a rise in maternal deaths. According to the Kenya Obstetric and Gynecological Society and Kenya Medical Association, 800 unsafe abortions are performed every day and 2,600 women die from unsafe abortions in Kenya each year, representing 30 to 40 percent of Kenya's total maternal deaths.

I hope that other countries around the world will begin to acknowledge the importance of expanding abortion rights as the right to an abortion should be rendered a human right!

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I attended the 28th Civil Liberties and Public Policy Conference at Hampshire College. I found the conference very empowering as I shared countless inspiring discussions with other thinkers and doers, reinvigorating my desire to be a part of this movement. A striking discussion I was blessed to have experienced was during a session on global HIV/AIDS. During this session, one of the speakers presented on microbicide research and the hope that she believed microbicides, compounds that can be applied inside the vagina or rectum to protect against STI’s including HIV, would offer women internationally.

Having attended congressional briefings and read scientific journals on microbicides, I was excited to see that there was active dialogue surrounding the research that was unfamiliar to many in the room. When others sitting in the session were told that microbicides could not offer rates of efficacy that were comparable to condoms, it was evident that many silently reflected on why we would want to invest resources to support such research. However, many in the room had simply failed to connect access to condoms, mutual monogamy, and other ideal options with false realities.

Today many of these prevention options are not feasible practices in the world, particularly for our women. Unfortunately, women do not always have the social or economic power necessary to negotiate condom use, insist on fidelity or the means to control other aspects of their lives that put them at risk. Hence, the introduction of microbicides would offer women an option, the option to take control over their sexual and reproductive health. It empowers women to take action and protect themselves. This new method would offer a form of harm reduction when condom negotiations fail amongst partners.

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As I celebrate the 36^th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade this year, I feel a great sense of hope and comfort that has been absent for years in the fact that my President, Barack Obama, shares my views on abortion and understands that “government should not intrude on our most private family matters.”

I strongly believe that a woman should be able to control her body and have the right to make decisions regarding her personal reproductive health for her own life as well as family. As women practice their right to choose, others must learn to trust and honor their decisions about their bodies and lives. Personal reproductive decisions should be made at the free will of the woman, not governed.

With the leadership of our new President, I hope that other countries around the world will acknowledge that by legalizing abortions, abortions are safe and ensure the safety of women. This should render the right to an abortion a human right.

To one who opposes abortions because of the belief that an abortion is murder, one must realize that we live in a society where we make choices of life and death all the time. We allow TB, malaria and AIDS to plague nations, allow genocides to run rampant across the continent of Africa, claim lives in Afghanistan and Iraq, and allow rockets to continue to bring Palestine to crumbles. Is that murder?

We are free beings living in a free society and I believe that no one has the right to impose their morals upon another.

Roe v. Wade protects a woman's right to choose, a basic human right, which all women should be entitled to.  

World AIDS Day arrived just as it arrives every year. This day should serve as a reminder of the change that is still desperately needed around the world and in our foreign policies on HIV prevention. Though this international day of awareness lasted for only 24 hours, we must not forget the strength of our voices as young people and the power we have to make change through advocacy. We must continue to engage in efforts to reform legislation and provide a voice for those abroad, silenced by their conditions. We must remember the importance of young people engaging in international issues and recognize the significance of World AIDS day in our efforts to make change.

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