Online Reporter
A court of appeal in Kenya on Friday overturned a ruling that affirmed the right to access abortion, setting up a legal clash that is likely to be appealed again in the Kenyan Supreme Court.
The appeal was based on the 2022 case of a teenager who went to hospital with pregnancy complications.
A doctor who examined her determined she had lost the pregnancy and provided emergency post-abortion care.
They were acquitted by the High Court.
The High Court in 2022 had ruled that access to abortion was a fundamental right under the constitution, declaring the arrest and prosecution of women and healthcare providers unconstitutional.
The court of appeal on Friday reiterated that abortion denies a child the right to life as guaranteed in the constitution and is prohibited except in circumstances such as when the life of the mother is at risk.
“In effect, abortion is not a fundamental right guaranteed under the constitution. On the contrary, the constitution expressly prohibits it, but provides exceptions in limited circumstances where it may be permissible,” the ruling read in part.
Kenya’s penal code criminalises abortion, imposing a sentence of up to 14 years in prison for attempting or procuring an abortion.
The Kenyan constitution, however, permits abortion if a trained healthcare worker recommends it as emergency treatment to save the life or health of the mother.
A global human rights group, the Centre for Reproductive Rights, on Friday termed the ruling a “setback” and said it would “move to the Supreme Court of Kenya to correct this anomaly”. — Associated Press
