July 25, 2010

Dr. Alveda King
Coordinator of African American Outreach, Priests for Life
www.priestsforlife.org/africanamerican

Day Gardner
President, National Black Pro-Life Union
www.nationalblackprolifeunion.com

Washington, DC — The world is watching Kenya. A vote will occur soon on a new Constitution for this great African nation.

While we are encouraged by the broad support among the Kenyan people for a Constitution that will serve to protect human dignity and the rule of law, we write to express our grave concerns over the proposed Constitution’s support for what amounts to a right to abortion-on-demand.

We have seen the devastation of abortion within the African American community in the United States and we hope to prevent it from being repeated in Kenya. Abortion brutally kills children and is devastating to women.

It is our hope that our brothers and sisters in Kenya will uphold their pro-life convictions with regard to the proposed Constitution. Don’t be swayed by misinformation. Here are the facts:

The Bill of Rights section of the proposed Constitution begins with Article 26, entitled “Right to Life.” Although Article 26 recognizes that “[e]very person has the right to life” which “begins at conception,” it declares that abortion is permitted whenever a “trained health professional” believes that “there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger.”

Article 26 also allows for abortion as “permitted by any other written law.” In addition, Article 43 of the proposed Constitution declares that “[e]very person has the right . . . to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive health care.”

These provisions of the proposed Constitution open the door to abortion on demand. The vast majority of abortions that occur worldwide are not necessary to save the mother’s life or to prevent a serious health risk, but are sought for economic or social reasons or due to a mere desire to not bear a child. Permitting abortions to take place any time that one “trained health professional” says that the “health of the mother is in danger” poses little, to any, practical limitations on an unrestricted right to abortion.

Most pregnancies increase or create some health risk to the mother, or have the potential to do so, such that a trained health professional could claim that a mother’s health would be at less risk if the pregnancy ended prematurely through an abortion. Even in the absence of any physical health risks or potential risks, a trained health professional could declare that a woman’s mental or emotional health could be improved by terminating a pregnancy early through an abortion. Unfortunately, Article 26’s praiseworthy declaration of a right to life that begins at conception will be rendered meaningless in practice by the broad language permitting abortions to occur.

In addition, Article 43’s statement that “[e]very person has the right . . . to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive health care,” will likely be used as a weapon to fight against any laws seeking to restrict the broad abortion rights created by Article 26. While maintaining the health of all Kenyans is certainly a laudable goal, that goal should not become a justification for recognizing broad abortion rights. A claim of marginal or non-existent physical, mental, or emotional health benefits for the mother should not justify the brutal, inhumane taking of the life of her unborn child.

We are not alone in our concerns. We know that many Kenyans desire a constitutional framework that protects the fundamental human rights of all Kenyans - including the unborn.

Yes, there are many good things about the proposed Constitution, but clearing the way for abortion-on-demand sends the wrong signal to a world where abortion is far too prevalent.

Dr. Alveda King is the niece of the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and daughter of Rev. A.D. King; Day Gardner is President of the National Black Pro-Life Union www.nationalblackprolifeunion.com, and Associate Director of the National Pro Life Center on Capitol Hill, www.nplac.org