Health experts and advocacy groups are raising concerns over the mental and physical consequences faced by women following induced abortions, warning that claims of “safe abortion” can be misleading.
Studies, including a 2011 British Journal of Psychiatry report and research published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research (2025), indicate that women who undergo induced abortions may face increased risks of depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, addiction, chronic relationship problems, and difficulties bonding with existing or future children.
This condition is sometimes described as Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS) or pathological grief. PAS results from the inability to process unresolved emotions and conflicts linked to a crisis pregnancy and its termination. Women who have had an abortion are reportedly four times more likely to undergo another induced abortion. Children born after such experiences may also face psycho-social challenges described in the literature as Post-Abortion Survivor’s Syndrome.
Medical ethics experts stress that healthcare providers must follow principles such as non-maleficence, beneficence, justice, and informed consent. Experts warn that abortion procedures both medical (pills) and surgical interventions are sometimes administered outside recommended guidelines, putting women at risk of severe bleeding, infection, sterility, premature delivery, or even death.
Kenya’s Constitution enshrines the right to life (Article 26) and the right to the highest attainable standard of health (Article 43). Article 35 guarantees access to information necessary to protect one’s rights. Critics argue that abortion does not qualify as a medical treatment and call for holistic support for all pregnancy losses, including miscarriage and stillbirth. Advocates also urge greater access to crisis pregnancy counseling and life-affirming options, noting that the global abortion industry, valued in billions of dollars, can have lasting physical, psychological, social, and spiritual impacts on women and their families.
Amid these concerns, the High Court of Kenya has struck down government-imposed bans that restricted public access to reproductive health information and post-abortion care, marking a significant victory for women’s health rights.
In a ruling delivered on 18 December, Justice Chacha Mwita declared that directives issued by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), and the Director of Medical Services (DMS), which blocked advertising and awareness campaigns on reproductive health, were unconstitutional and unlawful, acting beyond their legal mandate.
The decision clears the way for healthcare providers, including Marie Stopes Kenya, to offer abortion and post-abortion care services without fear of government sanctions. It also allows public health campaigns on reproductive health to proceed without censorship. “This decision reaffirms the constitutional rights of women to health, dignity, and access to information,” the judgment states.
Experts say the ruling is likely to reduce preventable maternal morbidity and deaths, particularly among adolescents and young women who previously had limited access to care and accurate information. The judgment also aligns Kenya with other progressive nations that prioritize reproductive health rights and sets a legal precedent ensuring that state agencies cannot impose arbitrary restrictions on evidence-based health services.