Trouble in Kenya

Back in February, we wrote enthusiastically about Kenya’s new constitution, which at the time supported human rights without regard to age. But as MRNewman mentioned on Friday, pro-lifers are now nervous about the revised language:

“It starts out saying life begins at conception but has the well-known abortion exception known as the health of the mother exception, and the way that has been interpreted not just in the United States but around the world by judges and attorneys is that basically that allows for abortion on demand,” said [American pro-life attorney] Jordan Sekulow. “That can be for any reason, because you do not feel good, because you are pregnant, so you can have an abortion. So what it does is put conflicting language in a constitution that just does not coordinate correctly.”

Saying that this will inevitably lead to abortion on demand, despite the Constitution’s otherwise pro-life and pro-woman provisions, strikes me as premature. However, I appreciate what the American experience has shown us, namely that we can’t trust the judiciary to protect the right to life when the language of the law is ambiguous. So I appreciate that Kenyan pro-life activists want more clarity and are prepared to vote No on the proposed constitution if they don’t get it.

Sadly, their right to campaign peacefully for a pro-life constitution was violated yesterday, when a rally in Uhuru Park was bombed. The Daily Nation states that 6 people were killed and 104 were injured, but the counts vary depending on the media outlet and the time of publication.