British citizens have called on the UK government to investigate illegal abortions carried out in Kenya by the UK-funded NGO Marie Stopes.
Last week, the Kenyan government shut down the abortion clinics run by Marie Stopes (see Kenya: the Ministry of Health requires Marie Stopes International to stop performing abortions in the country). Kenya’s law only allows abortion if the mother’s life or health is at serious risk. Marie Stopes, a British NGO, “receives millions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money”. The situation raises concerns about how the Department for International Development[1] allocates its budget, which amounts to about £14 million per year. The Department for International Development denied funding illegal abortions in Kenya, stating that it focuses its funding on legal emergency abortions.
Lord Alton, a British politician, has called for an urgent review of these actions, adding that “investment in quality maternal health services in Africa should be prioritised rather than an intense imposition of abortion and population control”.
See also:
Niger: two Marie Stopes health clinics shut down “for unauthorised activity”.
[1] The Department for International Development is an executive department of the British government responsible for international humanitarian and development aid. It is headed by the Secretary of State for International Development.
Daily Mail, Ian Drury (03/12/2018)
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