Kenyan Nurse Gets Death Penalty for Abortion

Kenyan Nurse Gets Death Penalty for Abortion

Abortion is illegal in Kenya. Although illegal, a doctor can perform one if the mother’s life is in danger. Compiled from a survey, it was found that nearly 120,000 women in 2012 in Kenya were treated for complications after unsafe abortions performed. Due to an incident that recently occurred, a nurse is being sentenced to death for assisting with an abortion. Jackson Namunya Tali assisted Christine Atieno, who wanted to abort her early pregnancy. Atieno later died in Tali’s as he was transporting her to another hospital for further medical treatment. It was stated that Atieno had been bleeding for eight days preceding the abortion.

The court later ruled Tali the cause of the death and convicted him of murder, sentencing him to death. Kenya hasn’t had a death sentence since 1987. Kenya has tried to get abortion legalized, but has not yet succeeded. In 2010, a new constitution began and the religious leaders denied approving legalization of abortion. However, now only one doctor is required to certify an abortion, whereas before, three doctors were needed for approval.

It’s scary to think that you could be sentenced to death for assisting with an abortion, especially since Kenya hasn’t had a death sentence for almost 30 years. It’s interesting that abortion is a hot topic in the U.S. while Kenya doesn’t believe in abortion but is pushing to legalize it. Although I don’t believe in abortion, I do think it is okay to make an exception when the mother is in danger. Although, I think it should be her decision to terminate. I’m curious if the U.S. were to make abortion illegal, if medical staff would try to assist with abortion anyway and what would happen if the mother died. I’m also curious if it would later be fought to legalize abortion. It’s interesting to see how much the countries have in common for political issues and how they handle them. To read more, click here.