Ascertaining Whether the Realisation of the Right to Reproductive Health Care in Kenya is Discriminatory Against Women.

Abstract

Generally, it is held and accepted globally that the Right to Health is a human right and as such it should be provided to all persons indiscriminately. The Constitution of Kenya under the Bill of Rights in Chapter Four Article 43 (1) (a) provides that every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health including the right to health care services which include RH care. Although this right has been provided for in the constitution, nonetheless, the Kenyan government has opted to realize this right without proper timelines and strategies to ensure that it is eventually realized for every Kenyan. With specific reference to women‟s reproductive rights, the current implementation has led to an increase in maternal deaths, the continued unavailability of RH services and even rises in cost in some instances. This Research Project will seek to trace and lay out the various International and National Laws and Policy Frameworks in a bid to identify the hierarchy and importance of women‟s right to RH care. The paper will also seek to outline and identify the effects of the implementation of the right to RH care in Kenya through an analysis of three RH areas namely; maternal care, access to contraceptives and the right to access safe abortion within the parameters of the law. Finally, the project analyses practices of two countries that have constitutionalized and judicialised the right to RH care in order to draw lessons from their contexts. By drawing from this evidence, readers will be able to comprehend whether the current implementation of Article 43 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Kenya results in the discrimination for women and girls of reproductive age or is intended to promote their RH and realise their right to RH care.