Abortion is a topic that has elicited great debate in countries all around the world, and recently has been the object of dispute in Kenya. Because of the country’s highly restrictive regulations, many women and children are resorting to backstreet clinics to receive the medical procedure. Located in garbage-ridden slums, the conditions are incredibly unsafe, as normal household objects such as knitting needles and wire hangers are being used, resulting in unbearable infections, and in many cases, the deaths of these young women.

Many Kenyan women and girls feel ashamed, scared, and trapped when they find out about their own pregnancies. Beatrice, a 14 year-old girl, died this past year after having and illegal abortion performed. Her mother noted that after Beatrice’s father had passed away of AIDS, Beatrice secretly became a child prostitute to help with her family’s needs. Later, after finding out she was pregnant and too afraid to tell her mother, she sought out a backstreet abortion. After the procedure, Beatrice developed a horrific infection that led to her passing shortly after.

Beatrice’s story is just one of tens of thousands.Numerous aborted fetuses appear each week in a stream going through Kibera, a large slum of Nairobi, illustrating the magnitude of the issue. In addition, one third of the maternal deaths in Kenya are caused by abortions.

For the full article on CNN.com please click on the following link http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/03/23/kenya.abortions/index.html?iref=allsearch