“When I got pregnant I was in Class 8,” begins Jane in a loud and clear voice that reaches every corner. “I was under a lot of pressure from my friends to abort. My Mum chased me from our home so I had no option but to join the other girls.” “Some of the girls from our group (on the streets) dropped off to get married, and others died attempting abortion…my own son was born with a wound on his back because I tried to have an abortion.”
In 2012, in Kenya, 464,690 induced abortions were recorded. According to the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) in a study conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Health in 2012, women between the ages of 15 and 49 were most likely to procure an abortion. Whether married, never married, widowed or divorced, religious, in employment or not, women continue to seek out induced terminations for unplanned or mistimed pregnancies.
Dr. Carol Odula-Obonyo, an obstetric gynecologist sheds light on the statistics . “These roughly 460,000 you are seeing here are only the ones with complications. Those that can afford it will never feature because they got complete abortions.” She continues. “It is common knowledge that you can force an abortion even with the simplest item that we all have here: a pen. Just poke yourself somewhere. It can be unsafe but if it is complete, it will never show up in statistics.”
Professor Boaz Otieno-Nyunya of the Kenya Medical Association carries on stressing that counseling works for woman still in the process of deciding on keeping or terminating her pregnancy. “Let us not confuse a woman who can be counseled with one who has already decided. If you deny her services the next thing you know she comes back to the emergency room with a stomach full of pus. Let us not mix issues. If a woman has decided she wants that abortion there is nothing she will not do to get it, including going to heaven.” he concludes.
Dr. Odula-Obonyo and Prof. Otieno-Nyunya raise important questions on the difficulties of accessing abortion services within the maintstream healthcare system.
In a country that struggles with HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Cancer and other chronic diseases, handling what seems to be a pandemic of cases of post abortive care, a preventable issue, seems like an incredible failure.
What options does a woman or girl who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant truly have? Cornered by the law, most women in crisis opt for hurried and hushed and often unsafe procedures. Even when the abortion is complete, such procedures always leave an indelible mark on the psychological health of the individual.
