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A new report by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) and the Guttmacher Institute has revealed the state of Kenya’s reproductive health with married women living with their partners accounting for more than 80 per cent of induced abortions in the country.
According to the report, more than 792,000 cases of induced abortions occurred between April 2023 and May 2024, representing 57.3 abortions per 1,000 women between 15 - 49 years.
Married women living with their partners accounted for more than 80 per cent of these abortions. 65 per cent of these married women living with their partners had previously given birth, with 32 per cent of them having given birth to two or more children by the time of induced abortion.
The remaining 35 per cent of married women living with their partners had not given birth previously by the time of the abortion.
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READ: US Supreme Court rejects key challenge to abortion rights
In terms of regions, Coast and North Eastern had the least cases of induced abortions.
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Nairobi and Central topped the list with the highest rates of induced abortions.
Unintended pregnancies & why some women chose abortion
The report cited unintended pregnancies as the driver of the high rates of induced abortions with women not using modern contraceptives at the time of conception being a key factor.
Nearly half of unintended pregnancies result in abortions and 66 per cent of women who procured abortion services were not using any contraceptive at the time of conception, citing fear of side effects.
“All the drivers of abortion is unintended pregnancies and one of the driving courses is sometimes they are not using the modern contraceptives we see that as our greatest entry point in terms of ensuring there is great awareness in communities,” said Kenneth Juma, a Senior Research Officer at APHRC.
According to the study, some women opt for abortion as they already have the number of children they wanted with the expensive cost of raising children featuring while some do so because they are not prepared to become parents at the time of the pregnancy.
Women choose to have abortions sometimes they are unprepared to become parents, but in many other reasons they are already parents because the cost of raising children is very expensive, some already had the amount of children they wanted.
While women have the option of different methods to end their pregnancy, the report established that 7.8 per cent of women who had induced abortions used harmful methods, such as drinking caustic substances or inserting sharp objects into their private parts.
Post-abortion care and the law
Post-abortion care is another area highlighted with only 18% of primary-level health facilities and 24% of referral health facilities able to offer post-abortion care.
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The Constitution of Kenya addresses circumstances under which abortion is permitted in Article 26(4)- Right to Life:
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.