Religious leaders campaigning against the Proposed Constitution have come under criticism from a global organization for their stand on abortion.

Ms Brook Elliott Buettner has accused the clergymen of favouring the life of the unborn child over that of the mother.

"I am baffled by the one-sidedness of trying to protect fetal life while turning a blind eye on the thousands of women who die seeking abortions every year," said Buettner in her monthly Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights situation report, published on Gender Across Borders, a global feminist blog.

A cross section of religious leaders, mainly from the mainstream churches, have ganged up against the draft laws set for a referendum vote on August 4.

The church leaders claim the proposed law allows "abortion on demand".

The bone of contention is Section 26(4) of the proposed law that says: Abortion is not permitted "unless, in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger, or if permitted by any other written law."

Buettner, a social justice worker and freelance human rights policy researcher, points out that 15,000 women die annually of pregnancy-related complications and more than a third in unsafe abortion.

"Maternal mortality rates in Kenya are among the world’s highest. Direct medical causes for maternal death include haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour and unsafe abortion," she cautions.

Contraceptive prevalence in Kenya hovers around 30 per cent and the fertility rate is between four and five children per woman.

As in all poor countries with high maternal mortality rates, the severity of these problems is driven by social factors.

In Kenya, health systems are lacking and infrastructure issues make it difficult to access resources.

According to the Centre for Reproductive Rights’ report "In Harm’s Way: The Impact of Kenya’s Restrictive Abortion Law," 2,600 women die every year due to unsafe abortion complications.

More than half this figure never sought medical care.

The in-depth report includes stories on women denied the right to choose, including 14-year-old Sarah, who lost her life due to complications from an unsafe abortion; too afraid to go to a doctor as she suffered from a raging infection because she feared being arrested or condemned by the community."

In Kenya, institutionalised social ideas about women’s role and worth is said to be the cause of deaths of thousands of women.

Source: The Standard, 17 July 2010