This archive report was first published on 13 September 2021.
Abortion is a highly stigmatized and often illegal procedure in Kenya, yet many young men find themselves in situations where they are forced to make this difficult choice.
James Otieno, a 25-year-old from Nairobi, shares his story of how he and his girlfriend decided to terminate their pregnancy in their early 20s. He wishes he had known more about the procedure and its consequences, which he believes would have helped him handle the situation better.
"I was in college when my girlfriend announced she was pregnant," Otieno recalls. "I was not ready to be a father, so we opted for an abortion."
He reveals that they had to seek out a clinic that performed the procedure, which cost Sh4,000. Otieno's girlfriend was given abortion pills, but she suffered heavy bleeding and eventually lost her life in his arms.
"I have been struggling with guilt and suicidal thoughts ever since," Otieno admits. "I hope my story will help others to avoid such a situation."
Another man, Dennis Gacheru, a 37-year-old from Kiambu, shares a similar story of how he and his girlfriend decided to terminate their pregnancy after she was raped by four men. They tried to keep the pregnancy, but the trauma of the incident made it difficult for them to cope.
"We regret not taking the prompt option to go to the nearest hospital as such a procedure would have been avoided," Gacheru says. "Abortion was the only choice we had as we would never imagine raising the baby whose father we barely knew."
He reveals that they had to seek out a chemist who provided them with abortion pills that cost Sh1,500.
Yet another man, Daniel Ogwati, a 40-year-old from Kisumu, shares a story of how he and his wife decided to terminate their pregnancy after discovering that their unborn child had anencephaly, a serious birth defect.
"We were terrified and felt like failures," Ogwati recalls. "With weighed the options, and decided to end the pregnancy."
He reveals that the procedure cost Sh150,000 and took less than an hour. Ogwati admits that he had to deal with the fact that his angel was gone, but just about five months later, his wife gave birth to healthy and identical twin girls.
