The Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board has, today 16th November 2018, ordered Marie Stopes clinic to immediately stop offering any form of abortion services in all its facilities in Kenya. This is contained in a communique by the Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board after a public outcry against Marie Stopes Clinics.
In its directives, the board orders that;
- Marie Stopes Kenya to immediately cease and desist offering any form of abortion services in all its facilities within the Republic of Kenya,
- Marie Stopes Kenya to submit weekly returns to the Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board over the next sixty days for all services rendered within all its facilities,
- The clinic to review its existing guidelines for reproductive health services which should be in conformity with the law. The draft guidelines shall be submitted to the Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board within the next sixty days for its approval,
- Marie Stopes Kenya has admonished for contravening the Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board rules on advertisements,
- The Clinic is directed to pull down the misleading information on its current website and any other information channels with immediate effect,
- Marie Stopes Kenya to separate the Health service delivery function from the advocacy programme forthwith,
- Marie Stopes Kenya to provide the chairman the Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board with evidence of compliance with orders issued among other directives.
According to the Kenya Films Classification Board, KFCB, Chairman (Dr. Ezekiel Mutua), ‘the Marie Stopes Kenya advert was not submitted to the Board for examination and classification and therefore in breach of the law.’
“The adverts contravenes Section 3 of the Programming Code for Free-to-Air Radio and Television Services in Kenya and Regulation 34 of the Kenya Information and Communication Act. Despite the ban by the Board on the abortion adverts, Marie Stopes Kenya continued to run them with impunity on several media outlets.” says Dr. Mutua.
Dr. Mutua hails the move by the, Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board, KMPDU, to stop Marie Stopes Kenya saying it ‘is a major gain in the campaign for morality that has been spearheaded by KFCB. All broadcast content has to conform to existing laws.’
Marie Stopes Kenya has been advocating for young girls to procure abortions under the guise of providing healthcare services in the country causing a public outcry. Marie Stopes Kenya works through a network of 22 clinics and 15 mobile outreach clinics, as well as thir network of Amua clinics across Kenya. Some of the services offered by these clinics include
Photo- Marie Stopes Kenya advert on ending Teenage Pregnancies.