Court Cases

Securing the Right to Safe Abortion for Sexual Abuse Survivors in Kenya

FIDA-Kenya and others v. Attorney General and others (High Court of Kenya)
  • Case Status Won
  • Filed on
  • Last Updated
  • Issue
    • Abortion
  • Place
    • Africa
    • Kenya

This case established that Kenya’s Constitution guarantees safe abortion access for sexual violence survivors.

2,600 At least 2,600 Kenyan women die each year from unsafe abortions.
14 Plaintiff JMM became pregnant at 14 after being sexually assaulted.
1 in 6 1 in 6 Kenyan women and girls report experiencing sexual abuse in childhood.

Explore Case

Table of Contents

  1. Summary
  2. About the case
  3. About the ruling
  4. About the appeal
  5. Learn more
  6. Related stories
  7. Timeline
Summary

Summary

In 2014, a Kenyan 14-year-old named JMM was sexually assaulted and became pregnant.

JMM sought an abortion. But the Kenyan Ministry of Health had recently withdrawn its safe abortion guidelines and banned abortion training for health care providers.

Without access to safe, legal abortion care, JMM was forced to get an abortion outside the health care system. The unsafe procedure caused severe health complications, including sepsis and kidney failure, which ultimately led to her death in 2018. The Center filed this case in 2015 on her behalf.

In a milestone ruling on June 12, 2019, the court affirmed that the Kenyan Constitution guarantees sexual violence survivors like JMM access to safe, legal abortion care.

Several months later, an anti-abortion group and the Kenya Attorney General appealed the ruling to the Kenya Court of Appeal. An appeal hearing will take place in 2025.

About the case

About the case

The Center filed this case on June 29, 2015, against Kenya’s Attorney General, the Director of Medical Services, and the Ministry of Health.

At issue were two actions by the Ministry of Health that made it harder for Kenyans like JMM to access abortion care:

  • The Ministry’s 2013 withdrawal of the “Standards and Guidelines for Reducing Morbidity and Mortality from Unsafe Abortion in Kenya.” This important policy document guided health care providers on when and how they could provide safe, legal abortion and post-abortion services.
  • Its subsequent ban on abortion trainings for health care professionals.

No woman or girl should die from the inability to access reproductive health care, including abortion. [This] judgment is a critical step in ensuring that unsafe abortion does not take the lives of any more of our women and girls.

Evelyne Opondo, Former Senior Regional Director for Africa
About the ruling

About the Ruling

On June 12, 2019, Kenya’s High Court ruled that:

  • Women and girls have the right to the highest attainable standard of mental, physical, and social health; the right to non-discrimination, the right to life; and other rights.
  • The defendants violated the rights of Kenyan women and girls by arbitrarily withdrawing the Standards and Guidelines, making medical providers unsure about the legal status of abortion and causing a chilling effect on care.
  • The memo withdrawing the Standards and Guidelines violated and threatened the rights of health care workers, making it illegal and void.  
  • Abortion is permitted for victims of sexual violence.  
  • Individual reparations must be paid to JMM’s mother.
About the appeal

About the Appeal

In late 2019, the Kenyan Christian Professional Forum and the Kenya Attorney General appealed the High Court’s ruling to the Kenya Court of Appeal, arguing that abortion is not a constitutional right.

The hearing date for the appeal has not yet been determined but is expected in 2025.

Learn more

Learn more

Related stories

Related stories

Timeline

News and Updates

December 3, 2013
Ministry of Health withdraws abortion guidelines
The Ministry of Health withdraws the "Standards and Guidelines for Reducing Morbidity and Mortality from Unsafe Abortion in Kenya,” leading to uncertainty and restricted access to safe abortion care.
February 24, 2014
Ministry of Health withdraws training curriculum
The Ministry of Health issues a memo banning safe abortion training for all health care professionals.
June 29, 2015
Center files case
The Center for Reproductive Rights, on behalf of JMM and FIDA-Kenya, file FIDA-Kenya and others v. Attorney General and others in the High Court. Center files case
June 10, 2018
JMM dies due to abortion complications
JMM tragically dies due to complications from an unsafe abortion.
June 12, 2019
Landmark ruling from the High Court
The High Court rules in favor of JMM’s family, declaring the withdrawal of abortion guidelines unlawful and affirming the right to abortion for victims of sexual violence. Landmark ruling from the High Court
December 1, 2019
Anti-rights actors file appeal
KCPF and the Attorney General of Kenya file an appeal challenging the landmark ruling.

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