WHY WE HAVE TO LOOK AT ABORTION AFRESH

Statistic released by the UoN lecturer Prof. Joseph Karanja who also doubles as Delivery Specialist at Kenyatta National Hospital, show a skyrocketing rise in abortion cases in the country.

According to him, approximately 300,000 abortions are carried out annually in Kenya by women in the age bracket of 20-34 yrs in backstreet clinics.

As a result of this, the Health Ministry is spending upwards of Ksh18M per year in resultant complications, while half the hospital beds occupied by women carry the sufferers of the complications.

Prof. Karanja blames a lack of policy in law to govern how, when, who and where should an abortion be carried out. This he says will greatly reduce the after effects of abortions gone awry like, trauma, bareness and death of the abortee. The health bill will consequently go down.

However, looking at this issue retrospectively, if what greeted the Health Minister Ngilu’s suggestion to legalise abortion is anything to go by, then there is only one way for this scourge to go and that is – UP!

Recall the 8 or so fetuses that were found one morning long Mombasa Road some years back? The outcry that followed, you would be forgiven to think that the world had indeed come to an end! What about the mock burials? Then what happened? We went back to our comfort zones, dug our heads into the sand like the proverbial ostrich while abortions continued.

At a seminar that he was covering this issue, Prof.Karanja said that as doctors, they see very many people carrying out these abortions. The fact is that the high and mighty will do this without batting n eyelid. Why not legalise it to avoid the approximately 800 deaths by women who attempt this act. It’s clearly a case of what is good for the goose isn’t good for the gander.

One question though, show me someone who doesn’t know of anybody who has aborted and I will show you the sea route to mars!