Kenyans tackle moral cop Mutua in abortion ban backlash
Kenyans on social media have vented their anger at the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB) for ordering Marie Stopes to stop offering any form of abortion services in the country.
The board, citing complaints from members of the public, also blocked the health service provider from publishing misleading information on its website.
Also not spared from the online fury is the CEO of the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), Dr Ezekiel Mutua.
PUBLIC COMPLAINT
Dr Mutua, alongside the campaign manager at CitizenGo Africa, Ms Ann Kioko, are among the complainants.
A KMPDB preliminary inquiry committee said in a letter to Marie Stopes that it was acting on complaints from the public.
Marie Stopes has been the stop for many Kenyan women who are seeking to undo unplanned pregnancies.
OUTLAWED
The Kenyan Constitution outlaws abortion with an exception being only when it is performed on mothers endangered by a pregnancy.
But the board, in a meeting on November 10, said it was dissatisfied by the facility’s guidelines on reproductive health.
It ordered Marie Stopes to submit, within 60 days, a report of the reviewed guidelines “to conform with the law.”
MUTUA BASHED
The Committee, led by Daniel Yumbya, further ordered the hospital to submit weekly returns to the regulator over the next 60 days.
The regulator also barred the provider from running advertisements that contravene Public Health Facilities Advertising Rules, 2016.
However, on social media, Kenyans, who feel aggrieved by the new order, have bashed Dr Mutua, whom they’ve faulted for the move.
@EzekielMutua I am horrified to hear a MAN lecture WOMEN using arcane laws about, their right to choose what to do with their bodies. MEN indiscriminately impregnate WOMEN & GIRLS abandoning them to raise child alone! I support a woman’s right to choose! #MarieStopesAbortionsBan https://t.co/TnaX4yEw5k
— Tony Gachoka (@TonyGachoka) November 17, 2018
@EzekielMutua banning abortions does not stop them from happening. Women are at the risk of dying everyday for seeking illegal abortions , but you’d rather women die than legalize abortion ? Weird flex but ok. #MarieStopesAbortionsBan
— Wacuks ? (@wacuka_) November 16, 2018
Ezekiel Mutua needs to get pregnant and then have a complication whereby the doctor has to tell him, either his life is saved and try again for another baby . Bye!.
— Jackie (@Jackie_Arkle) November 17, 2018
ABORTION should be LEGAL. Whatever i do with my body is not government agenda. Ezekiel Mutua should be ashamed for imposing his stupid religious fundamentalism on a nation. Bure kabisa #MarieStopesAbortionsBan
— Abraham Mutai (@ItsMutai) November 17, 2018
You have Ezekiel Mutua who is against safe abortions then you remember there’s Magufuli who says a pregnant school girl should not be allowed to go back to school after delivery… Surely why do we have people like this??
— الصدفة?? (@Shirley_Sein) November 17, 2018
Banning Marie Stopes from undertaking abortions directly endangers the lives of those who will have to seek unsafe alternatives. Ezekiel Mutua gloating over this just tells you the type of person he is.
— A$AP Trackie (@Trackmann) November 17, 2018