Nairobi, Kenya — A court of appeal in Kenya on Friday overturned a ruling that affirmed the right to abortion, setting up a legal standoff that is likely to be appealed again to the Kenyan Supreme Court.
The appeal was based on a case in 2022 of a teenage girl who went to hospital with pregnancy complications. A doctor who examined her determined that her pregnancy was lost, and provided emergency care following a miscarriage. The High Court acquitted him.
The high court had ruled in 2022 that access to abortion was a fundamental right under the Constitution, and declared the arrest and prosecution of women and health care providers unconstitutional.
The Court of Appeal reiterated Friday that abortion deprives the child of the right to life enshrined in the Constitution and is prohibited except in circumstances when the mother’s life is in danger.
“In fact, abortion is not a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution. On the contrary, the Constitution clearly prohibits it but provides exceptions in limited circumstances where it may be permitted,” the judgment read in part.
Kenya’s penal code criminalizes abortion, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison for attempting or causing an abortion. However, the Kenyan Constitution allows abortion if a trained health care worker recommends it as emergency treatment to save the life or health of the mother.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, a global human rights group, on Friday called the decision a “blow” and said it would “take Kenya’s Supreme Court to correct this anomaly.”
A local faith-based organisation, the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum, and the Attorney General had appealed against the High Court’s 2022 decision, which ruled that abortion was a fundamental right under the constitution.
Charles Kanzma, a lawyer and former president of the Forum, said the appeal court decision had “restored the constitutional balance that had been distorted by the High Court decision.”
“This means that if someone is charged with a crime under Section 158, 159, or 160 of the Penal Code, as was the case in this case, they have to provide evidence to show that they were not involved in the crime of abortion on demand,” Kanjama told The Associated Press.
According to a report jointly published by the Ministry of Health, the African Population and Health Research Center and the Guttmacher Institute in 2025, abortion is a leading cause of maternal death and an estimated 792,000 induced abortions occurred in Kenya between April 2023 and May 2024.
