Church, anti-abortion groups seen threatening women's health bill in Kenya

  • 📰 SowetanLIVE
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 31 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 16%
  • Publisher: 63%

Law Law Headlines News

The Reproductive Healthcare Bill, which is set to be sent to the Senate for debate in the coming days, includes provisions for sex education in schools, assisted reproduction such as surrogacy, and access to safe abortion services when necessary.

Critics of the proposed law say it also promotes widespread abortion, which is only permitted under Kenya's constitution when a woman's life or health is in danger and emergency treatment is required.

An estimated 2,600 women and girls die annually in Kenya from complications related to unsafe abortions, according to Health Ministry data. That accounts for 35% of all maternal deaths. Plans for the provision of sex education for children aged 10-17 and for adolescents to be able to access sexual and reproductive health services would help reduce high rates of unwanted teenage pregnancy, women's groups say.

No date has been set for the bill to be sent to the Senate, but groups such as the National Council of Churches of Kenya urged the chamber in a letter last month to scrap it.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 13. in LAW

Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Botswana opts to make land owners of wives with new law | News24A wife in Botswana can now own land alongside her husband, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said, in a boost for women that rights groups called long overdue.
Source: News24 - 🏆 4. / 80 Read more »