Defending reproductive rights in Kenya

We must ensure that women and girls seeking abortion care within the law in this country are defended and protected, as guaranteed by the constitution.

Doris Kathia, People Daily ePaper
4 Apr 2026

Kenya stands at a critical crossroads in defining the scope of reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and access to healthcare under our Constitution. In recent years, reproductive health, including abortion and assisted reproductive technologies, has become increasingly politicised.

Organised anti-rights movements leverage highprofile events like the March for Life to frame the debate narrowly through moral and religious lenses, often ignoring the lived realities of women, girls, and families navigating complex health and socio-economic challenges.

Continued; https://www.pressreader.com/kenya/people-daily-epaper/20260404/281651081658359

04.04.2026

‘Peers must follow MPs and end the cruel criminalisation of women over abortion’

17th March, 2026
Tonia Antoniazzi MP

165 years ago women didn’t have the vote, married women couldn’t own their own property, and marital rape was legal. It’s also how long ago a law was passed that continues to define abortion as a criminal offence in England and Wales.

This law has seen women targeted, punished, imprisoned, dragged from hospital beds to police cells, publicly shamed – mothers torn from their existing children and new babies – following complications in their abortion treatment, miscarriage, stillbirth or premature labour. More than 100 women have been criminally investigated since 2020, six have faced court and one has been sent to prison for abortion offences.

Continued: https://labourlist.org/2026/03/peers-must-follow-mps-and-end-the-cruel-criminalisation-of-women-over-abortion/

17.03.2026

Opinion

abortion law reform

Crime and Policing bill

Malta – Depenalisation of abortion is the very least we expect

The least our members of parliament can do is change the law and remove the possibility of a custodial sentence being handed down by the courts in abortion cases.

15 March 2026

This leader has repeatedly argued for the legalisation of abortion and its regulation as a healthcare matter. Pregnant women should have the choice to make decisions on their life, their health and wellbeing as they deem fit. And that includes the choice to terminate their pregnancy.

We contend that every woman should have the right to terminate her pregnancy for whatever reason up to the point of the foetus’s viability outside the womb. Furthermore, at any stage of the pregnancy, the woman should have the choice to terminate her pregnancy if her life is on the line. Not everyone will make these choices but for those who want to, the option should be accessible, safe and legal.

Continued: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/editorial/140344/depenalisation_of_abortion_is_the_very_least_we_expect_

15.03.2026

Opinion

abortion law reform

decriminalization of abortion

Kenya – OPINION: Women’s month and the silent crisis of unsafe abortion

Many Kenyan women and girls are still negotiating their bodily autonomy in fear, confusion, and silence.

by KELVIN MOKAYA
6 March 2026

March invites us to celebrate women. It calls us to reflect on progress made, to name injustices that persist, and to recommit ourselves to a future anchored in dignity and equality. In Kenya, Women’s Month often comes with colorful events, inspiring hashtags, and powerful speeches about empowerment. Yet beneath the celebration lies a quieter, more uncomfortable truth. Many Kenyan women and girls are still negotiating their bodily autonomy in fear, confusion, and silence.

This month, as we mark International Women’s Day, we must confront a pressing thematic concern that sits at the heart of sexual and reproductive health and rights in Kenya: the growing confusion, stigma, and systemic barriers surrounding access to safe abortion, despite constitutional guarantees.

Continued: https://www.the-star.co.ke/opinion/2026-03-06-opinion-womens-month-and-the-silent-crisis-of-unsafe-abortion

06.03.2026

Opinion

International Women's Day

Kelvin Mokaya

Know Your Rights Own Your Choices

Maputo Protocol

maternal morbidity and mortality

safe abortion guidelines

sexual and reproductive health and rights

Malaysia – Teen Pregnancy Data Is Incomplete Without Abortion Figures — Dr SP Choong

Dr SP Choong argues teen pregnancy data cited in a Ministry of Health report is misleading because it counts only hospital births, not abortions. He says the issue must also address access to safe, legal abortion and accurate information.

By CodeBlue
5 March 2026

I would like to comment on The Star‘s excellent and timely cover story on teen pregnancy, published on March 1, 2026. However, I must point out that the figures on teen pregnancies as quoted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) only indicate the number of teens delivering in hospital. They exclude those teens who have had their pregnancies terminated as they have no data on this.

As MOH hospital policy usually provide abortions where there is risk of severe medical complications, so most abortions are provided by the private sector, but the MOH does not collect this data, unlike most other countries. Therefore, the figures can only be estimates.

continued: https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2026/03/teen-pregnancy-data-is-incomplete-without-abortion-figures-dr-sp-choong/

05.03.2026

Opinion

abortion stigma

National Population and Family Development Board

Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia

UK – Does Nigel Farage have a problem with women?

Critics link Farage’s ‘Trump-lite’ condescension to female journalists to Reform’s moves against women’s rights

Alexandra Topping
Sat 21 Feb 2026

When Nigel Farage told a journalist this week she should “write some silly story … and we won’t bother to read it”, it provoked an instant – and divided – reaction. For some it was a “masterclass” in dealing with mainstream media, but for others it was “rude, dismissive, misogynistic, arrogant”.

Behind the scenes, Farage’s treatment of the Financial Times’s Anna Gross – which was met with mirth and applause among Reform diehards in the room – provoked disquiet and anger among lobby journalists across the political spectrum.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/21/nigel-farage-women-problem-trump-style-provocation-prejudice

Trump administration is expanding global gag rule to export its ideology worldwide

This destructive policy demands that we work harder, smarter, and together to understand the implications and mitigate its impacts, writes Carole Sekimpi

BMJ 2026; 392 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s335
19 February 2026
Carole Sekimpi, Africa director

In January 2025, US President Trump reinstated the “global gag rule,”1 ending US government foreign assistance for international organisations that provide or promote abortion. I wrote at the time about the harm it would inflict on women and girls.2 A year on, the Trump administration has announced an expansion of the policy that will cut funding to organisations it deems to be promoting “gender ideology” or diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

As a global healthcare community, we are being manipulated by these politicians holding purse strings. Our immediate approach must be to understand the policy changes and navigate them collectively. To that end, we can share information on what the new restrictions are and what they might mean in practice.

Continued: https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj.s335.short?rss=1

19.02.2026

As the US exports ideological harm in health aid, here’s how to resist it

Opinion: As the Mexico City Policy expands, U.S. aid now polices values as well as services. Silence may feel strategic — but it’s already causing harm. Here’s a global health resistance agenda.

By Kent Buse, Sonja Tanaka, Lynsey Robinson, Sharmila L. Mhatre
11 February 2026

The recent expansion of the United States’ Mexico City Policy marks a turning point for global health and development assistance. What was once a contested restriction on abortion-related services has been transformed into a sweeping ideological test, applied across nonmilitary foreign aid.

The damage to health systems from last year’s Presidential Memorandum reinstating the Mexico City Policy is already evident, reflecting patterns well documented during previous enforcement periods. But the more fundamental question now is whether global health groups will accept this shift — or organize to resist it.

Continued: https://www.devex.com/news/as-the-us-exports-ideological-harm-in-health-aid-here-s-how-to-resist-it-111849

11.02.2026

Opinion

Geneva Consensus Declaration

Global Gag Rule

Mexico City policy

PHFFA

Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance

What’s driving the huge rise in abortions?

Britain is experiencing a crisis of motherhood.

Ann Furedi
2nd February 2026

There has been a significant rise in the number of abortions carried out in England and Wales over the past few years. According to government statistics published at the start of the year, abortions increased by 11 per cent in 2023 compared with 2022. This follows on from a 17 per cent increase in abortions in 2022 compared with 2021.

It’s true that abortion numbers have been climbing steadily since the mid-1990s. But it certainly looks as if the numbers have risen sharply in the 2020s. Despite some attempts to play these figures down, this is a hugely significant increase.

Continued; https://www.spiked-online.com/2026/02/02/whats-driving-the-huge-rise-in-abortions/

02.02.2026

Opinion

Ann Furedi

contraception myths

fear of contraception

increase in abortion rates

Becca Rea-Tucker on Why We Shouldn’t Feel Bad About Our Abortions

“Abortion is OK, we know. But how are our kids supposed to believe us if we whisper it under our breath?”

Becca Rea-Tucker
January 26, 2026

My second book, The Abortion Companion: An Affirming Handbook for Your Choice and Your Journey, is about to come out, and I’m feeling fussy. I’m scrolling through the long-finished page spreads, noting a .com where they should be a .org, an additional helpline I should have listed, a “definitely” where I could’ve written “absolutely.” The work is finished, but it’s never finished.

Later, on a break from that particular form of fussing, I’m sorting through an album in my phone titled “Repro Cakes.” I scroll past “Abortion. Any time. Any reason,” “Abortion Pills Forever,” and “No shame, no stigma” looking for one emblazoned with the phrase, “Abortion Isn’t A Bad Word” in Barney-purple script. I first posted an image of this cheerful little cake from the middle seat of a ride share sometime in 2018. I knew the not a bad word statement to be true then, but I certainly didn’t always.

Continued: https://lithub.com/becca-rea-tucker-on-why-we-shouldnt-feel-bad-about-our-abortions/

26.01.2026