In A Setback For Women’s Rights, A Court In Kenya Has Ruled That Abortion Is Not A Fundamental Right
It said that abortion denies a child the right to life as guaranteed in the constitution and is prohibited except in life-threatening circumstances.
In a blow to women rights, Kenya is criminalizing abortion again, striking down on a law that declared abortion a constitutional right in the country.
Kenya's 2010 constitution permits abortion when a trained health professional determines the mother's life or health is at risk.
But Kenya’s penal code, written under British colonial rule and never updated, criminalize abortion, with women attempting to procure an abortion facing up to 14 years in prison.
The legal gap between the two laws has long enabled police to harass and extort both patients and doctors.
In September 2019, a 16-year-old girl, referred to as PAK, went to a clinic in Kilifi, on Kenya's coast, after experiencing severe abdominal pain, dizziness and bleeding during her pregnancy, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Clinician Salim Mohammed examined her, determined she had already lost the pregnancy, and gave her post-abortion care.
Police arrested PAK and Mohammed both, while PAK was still in her hospital bed and confiscated her records.
PAK was held at a police base for two days without medical care and forced to undergo another medical examination to gather evidence of an alleged abortion offence.
Mohammed was detained for a week, while PAK was remanded to a juvenile facility for more than a month while she sought bail.
They were later charged under the Penal Code, PAK for procuring an abortion and Mohammed for performing one and supplying drugs to induce it.
In March 2022, Kenya's High Court issued a landmark ruling affirming that abortion care is a fundamental right under the constitution, ordering the parliament to finally reconcile the penal code with the constitution.
It declared the arrest, detention and prosecution of both PAK and Mohammed unlawful, and ruled that a trained health professional acting in good faith cannot be guilty of a Penal Code abortion offence.
On April 24, 2026, , Kenya's Court of Appeal struck down the ruling, saying that abortion “is not a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution.”
It said that abortion denies a child the right to life as guaranteed in the constitution and is prohibited except in circumstances such as when the life of the mother is at risk, according to AP.
The court also reinstated criminal charges against PAK and Mohammed.
Religious and conservative groups have welcomed the appellate‑court decision, calling it a “restoration” of constitutional balance.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented PAK and Mohammed, said it would appeal the ruling to Kenya's Supreme Court, calling the decision deeply disappointing.
At least seven Kenyan women die every single day from unsafe abortions, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Abortion is a leading cause of maternal deaths, about 790,000 induced abortions occurred in Kenya between April 2023 and May 2024, and more than 300,000 women were subsequently hospitalized due to complications from unsafe procedures, according to a report jointly published in 2025 by the Ministry of Health, the African Population and Health Research Center, and the Guttmacher Institute.
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