KENYA: Pro-Life Groups Emphasize Withdrawal of Proposed Health Care Bill “Without Amendments”
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
The pro-life groups in Kenya have reiterated their stance against the Bill proposed by some parliamentarians on reproductive health, noting that the it needs to be “withdrawn entirely without amendments.”
In a statement signed by representatives from 23 pro-life groups, the campaigners have collectively appealed to the Senate Committee on Health “to listen to the many voices who have opposed the Bill and have it shelved completely.”
The memoranda echoing non-negotiable stance by the various groups issued to the Senate Committee on Health come days after the “fresh call for public participation on the proposed law,” reads in part the statement released Monday, August 17.
The Bill sponsored by Senator Susan Wakarura Kihika of Kenya’s Nakuru County, “is pushing for illegalities and practices that are not acceptable in our country,” the collective statement reads and explains further that “the Bill is going to make legal abortion on demand in the country, contrary to the spirit of our Constitution of 2010 and the Penal Code.”
In a statement released in June by the Catholic Bishops highlighting that termination of the unborn is “homicide,” the Church leadership already rejected the proposed Bill stating that it is against the teachings of the Church and African Cultural values which promulgate the protection of life.
“We are called by our faith and our African cultural background, to protect life and also the life of the unborn. As Bishops, we respond to our belief that regards abortion as the intentional killing of a human life. We wish to remind all Christian’s legislators that the teaching of the Church on this matter has never wavered,” the Prelates said.
The pro-life groups disclosed in the Monday statement that the Bill is “sponsored and championed by foreign NGOs that have continuously pushed for it online, through media and also through holding workshops with a number of legislators.”
In the month of July, the Chairman of Catholic Members of parliament in Kenya under their forum, Catholic MPs Spiritual Support Initiative (CAMPSSI) Hon. Chris Wamalwa Wakhungu explained, “The Bill is sponsored by an international organization which promotes contraceptives and advocates for access to abortions.”
He added that the Bill has “cleverly not used the term abortion and instead (is) hiding under the Kenyan Constitution clause which says that abortion is not permitted unless under life threatening circumstances.”
According to the campaigners against the Bill, the intent of the Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) sponsoring the Bill is to “make abortion legal on the entire Africa continent, Kenya being their number one target.”
They underscored further that the “Bill is pushing for surrogacy without offering a clear framework on how this can be practiced and without taking into account the negative effects which the practice has, including harm to the best interests of the child and the spirit of Article 45 of the Constitution.”
Raising another area of concern by the representatives from various pro-life groups, “the Bill is aimed at legalizing Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in the name of adolescent friendly education.”
They noted that the Bill also leaves loopholes for other illegal practices including “same sex union and related practices.”
The pro-life community has “offered to help in championing and steering an all stakeholders forum that will come up with a Bill that is acceptable by all,” they noted.
The various pro-life groups that signed the Monday statement include among others, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Franciscan Friars Kenya, Catholic Members of Parliament in Kenya, Catholic Doctors Association, Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK), Kenya Christian Professionals Forum (KCPF), John Paul 11 Institute of the family in Kenya and CitizenGO.
