Monday, February 02, 2026
By Linet Owoko
Kenya risks losing decades of progress in maternal and child health due to the expanded Global Gag Rule, a US policy that restricts organisations receiving American funding from providing, referring for, or advocating for abortion services.
The Global Gag Rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy, threatens to dismantle the comprehensive reproductive health system that has driven significant improvements in maternal outcomes across the country.
December 19, 2025
A Kenyan High Court has overturned a previous order barring Marie Stopes International Kenya from providing abortion and post-abortion care services. Therefore, restoring operations for the reproductive health provider amid ongoing debates on safe maternal care.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Chacha Mwita, declared the 2023 suspension unconstitutional. Additionally, citing violations of rights to health and bodily autonomy as outlined in the 2010 Constitution.
Continued: https://nyakundireport.com/high-court-lifts-ban-on-marie-stopes-abortion-services/
Incidence and safety of abortion in two humanitarian settings in Uganda and Kenya: a respondent-driven sampling study
December 9, 2025
Ipas
Published in The Lancet Clinical Medicine Led by Ipas in partnership with Ibis Reproductive Health, the International Rescue Committee, African Population and Health Research Centre, and Resilience Action International, this research is one of only a few studies on abortion in humanitarian settings. It provides critical new data on abortion from communities often excluded from sexual and reproductive health research.
Main takeaway: In two of East Africa’s largest refugee settings—Bidibidi (Uganda) and Kakuma (Kenya)—researchers conducted the first-ever study to estimate abortion incidence using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) in a humanitarian context. The results highlight an overlooked reality: displaced people seek abortion care at higher rates but face limited options and extreme risks from resorting to unsafe methods.
Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/abortion-in-humanitarian-settings-research-uganda-and-kenya/
ODI Global
Nov 24, 2025
Based on three case studies from across the African continent, this research explores the politics of anti-gender backlash against sexual and reproductive health and rights. By sharing insights from three country contexts: The Gambia, Kenya and Sierra Leone, these case studies offer a clear analysis of the salient economic, social, political and cultural factors that defined the legislative outcomes of rights-based initiatives in each nation.
Each paper sets out to understand the stakeholder motivations, political economy and foreign influences that shaped the debates over three legislative proposals relating to LGTBQI+ rights, access to safe abortion, and a ban on FGM. Within a context of intensifying backlash to women’s rights in a world defined by rollbacks to legal protections and slashed spending on ODA, this research aims to support international development actors seeking to better assess opportunities and obstacles to their initiatives on gender rights.
In 2022, the National Reproductive Health Policy (2022-32) introduced a provision that was inconsistent with the Constitution’s guarantee of the right to life.
Monday, October 13, 2025
By Moraa Obiria
When Kenya’s Ministry of Health introduced the National Reproductive Health Policy (2022–32), a single line complicated access to legal abortion.
The High Court has now struck down that clause, saying it unlawfully expanded healthcare provision and risked women’s lives.
Justice E.C. Mwita reaffirmed women’s right to safe and legal abortion under Article 26(4).
Sunday, October 12, 2025
By Joseph Wangui
The High Court has nullified a clause in the National Reproductive Health Policy that required consideration of the unborn child’s health during pregnancy termination. This deals a setback to the government's effort to extend protection of the right to life for a fetus beyond the constitutionally granted measures.
The voided clause in the National Reproductive Health Policy 2022-2032 required the health of the unborn child to be considered when a mother is terminating pregnancy, and its right to life to be taken into account.
Oct 9, 2025
Center for Reproductive Rights
On October 2, 2025, the High Court of Kenya struck down Paragraph 12 of Clause 3.4.1 of the National Reproductive Health Policy 2022–2032, which sought to limit access to safe and legal abortion by requiring, in addition to the health and life of the mother, that the highest attainable standard of health of the foetus be prioritised before services can be provided. The court found that the clause contradicts Article 26(4) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and would put women and girls in need of reproductive health services at risk.
The judgment confirms that access to safe and legal abortion is a constitutional right when, in the opinion of a trained health care professional, there is need for emergency treatment, where the life or health (including physical, mental and social well-being) of the pregnant woman is in danger, or when permitted by any written law. This means that the health of the foetus cannot be independently prioritized over the life or health of the pregnant woman. This judgment centers on the reproductive health and dignity of women and girls and speaks to the lived realities and needs of those who seek safe and legal abortion services.
Unsafe abortion remains a leading cause of deaths and injuries related to pregnancy in Kenya.
Sunday, October 05, 2025
By Nyokabi Njogu
The Constitution enshrined reproductive rights, yet women and girls continue to face denial of services, unsafe abortions, and systemic barriers that undermine their dignity and autonomy.
Despite landmark court decisions affirming access to abortion, freedom from forced sterilisation, and reproductive autonomy, outdated laws and poor implementation continue to frustrate women’s rights.
Event marking International Safe Abortion Day affirmed life-saving healthcare
by TOM JALIO
03 October 2025
A strong message was sent last Sunday in the push to change the narrative on unsafe abortion.
Teen mums and adolescent girls faced off in a football match in Kajiado county organised by Usawa Reproductive Health Association and Youth Friendly Centre. The game was played at Kasoro Bahari Stadium in Embulbul, Ngong.
Usawa Teen Mums and Embulbul Girls did more than score goals, they kicked out abortion stigma.
Continued: https://www.the-star.co.ke/sasa/2025-10-03-girls-kick-abortion-stigma-out-in-football-tournament
The lobbyists also pointed to the Maputo Protocol, which explicitly recognises abortion as a right
by GEORGE OWITI, Nairobi
29 September 2025
Human rights lobby groups have called on President William Ruto’s administration to decriminalize safe abortion in Kenya, citing rising numbers of unsafe procedures and maternal deaths.
The African Civil Society Organizations, including the Centre for Reproductive Rights, SUPERB, FIDA Kenya, Women Collective Kenya, Women’s Probono Initiative, Reproductive Health Network Kenya and Health Development Initiative, issued the call during this year’s International Safe Abortion Day on Sunday.
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