Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris on Thursday morning disclosed that she put her daughter on birth control at the age of 16.
Speaking during a morning show at Citizen TV, where panelists were discussing the courts ruling on safe abortion regulations, the woman representative noted that she made the decision when she realised her daughter's friends were already sexually active.
"Her friends are already having sex, I had it at a later age, my mother didn't know about it and at the end of the day, I felt that it was important to take my daughter to a gynae.
"I took her to my gynae in Nairobi and I said to my gynae, I want her on the pill, put her on the pill at the age of 16," she divulged.
She narrated that she did it, not because she wanted her daughter to engage in sexual activities, but to ensure that she did not get pregnant at an early age.
"Parents have got to be realistic, by putting my daughter on birth control, I made sure that abortion does not become the birth control," she cited.
On June 12, 2019, the high court ruled that abortion still remained illegal in Kenya and would be allowed only when the mother's life is at risk, as a result of pregnancy.
The court also noted that safe abortion would be procured within the confines of the law and had to be done by permitted medical practitioners.
“In the question of who is a trained medical professional as per the abortion provision, we rely on the Health Act which describes a trained medical professional as a midwife, clinical officer, nurse and any other trained medical worker,” judge George Odunga stated.
