Post-abortion care

Abortion is a loaded term in the United States, conjuring up many years of history and debate from political, medical and social contexts. However, in Kenya, there are even more challenges around perception of and access to abortion and post-abortion care services. In 2010, the new Kenyan Constitution legalized abortion when a provider deems that life or health of a woman are in danger. Although this is less restrictive than previous legislation, abortion is generally considered illegal throughout the country. While post-abortion care has always been legal in Kenya, it remains stigmatized, particularly because most often post-abortion care occurs after unsafe abortions that are occurring in the community due to the current restrictive policies. Indeed, post-abortion care guidelines were restricted from use for a number of years due to worry that the post-abortion care guidelines would help individuals perform these services illegally and were just re-released in February of this year back to health facilities throughout the country. Despite the...