Abortion, a procedure that ends a pregnancy is, legally, ethically and morally prohibited.
However, there are a lot of myths and misinformation surrounding this matter.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a US-based reproductive health nonprofit organization, the abortion rate is 37 per 1000 people in countries that prohibit abortion or allow it only in instances to save a woman's life and 34 per 1000 people in countries that allow abortion.
Abortion poses many risks to the woman that not only endanger her life but also the life of the baby in subsequent pregnancies. The risks range from physical, psychological to biological.
However, criminalising abortion does not stop but only makes it less safe.
When governments restrict access to abortions, people are then compelled to resort to clandestine, unsafe abortions especially those who cannot afford to seek more private care.
The World Health Organization estimates that 25 million unsafe abortions happen each year, the vast majority of them in developing countries.
Unsafe abortions are the third leading cause of maternal death worldwide and lead to an additional five million largely preventable disabilities.
In countries with abortion restrictions, the legislation only allows for what is known as narrow exceptions to undergo safe abortion procedures.
These exceptions might occur when a pregnancy results from rape or incest, in cases of severe and fatal fetal impairment or when there is a risk to the life and health of the pregnant woman.
Only a small percentage of abortions are due to these reasons.
This means the marginalized are unfairly affected by such laws as they have no means to seek safe and legal services in other countries.
They include women and girls of low income, adolescents, refugees and migrants, transgender or gender non-conforming individuals and indigenous women.
People who have undergone abortion do not have a safe space for voicing out their psychological and even biological challenges for fear of being seen as outlaws or immoral gods
WHO has noted that one of the first steps towards avoiding maternal deaths and injuries is for states to ensure that people have access to sex education, can use effective contraception, have a safe and legal abortion and are given timely care for complications.
It could also be further argued that criminalizing abortion is a form of discrimination that further leads to stigmatization.
People who have undergone abortion do not have a safe space for voicing out their psychological and even biological challenges for fear of being seen as outlaws or immoral gods.
Abortion should no longer be seen as a topic for immorality and murder but should be treated as a health threat. Illegalising it is only turning a blind eye to it and ignoring the unavoidable matters at hand surrounding it.
Legalising abortion on the other hand and sensitising people on the safe and legal ways to go about it will open forums for discussion on this topic, room for research and improvements on the prevailing risks.
Student Maasai Mara University
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
