Women’s sexuality and IPPFAR protection against unsafe abortion

The recent comments by U.S. congressman, Kris Smith, of New Jersey, at a forum organised by the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum in which he compared the country’s constitution with that of Cuba’s that permits termination of children with Down Syndrome has received knocks from the International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR).

IPPFAR described the U.S. congressman’s statement as a mission and political agenda by the America’s Republican and Fundamentalist Christians in U.S. to control women’s sexuality and their bodies.

Smith had reportedly asserted that the Kenyan Constitution opens the door to abortion on demand but IPPFAR noted the perception is purely based on misrepresentation and distortion of facts regarding the Constitution and access to safe abortion in Kenya.

In his closed-door speech to select Christians under the auspices of the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum last March, Smith had compared Kenya’s new Constitution to the Cuban “eugenics policy” of terminating children with Down’s Syndrome and asserted that nobody would be allowed to build their “political futures on the backs of dead babies and wounded mothers.”

According to IPPFAR’s Director, External Relations and Advocacy, Funmi Balogun-Alexander, in a statement made available to Sunday Independent Health, “It has nothing to do with Christianity but another form of colonisation and imperialism.

“The United States itself is founded on the principles of individual freedom and rights and clearly separates the state from the Church, with abortion being legal in many states and under different circumstances.”

Balogun-Alexander noted, “We at IPPF Africa Region, a federation of 42-member associations in Africa, working to safeguard every individual’s access to safe and accessible sexual and reproductive health and rights, have been in the forefront of ensuring the reduction of maternal deaths/morbidity through unsafe abortions, availability of reproductive health commodities and information on maternal health/safe motherhood and in Africa for over 60 years take exception to the bullying antics of organised Christian right groups in Africa aimed at denying women’s choices over their reproductive health.” read more >>

By Yinka Shokunbi

Source: Daily Independent (Lagos)