Kenyan constitutional talks stall on abortion issue

April 30, 2010

Christian leaders in Kenya have pulled out of negotiations with the government over the text of a proposed new constitution for the African country, after a stalemate on the abortion issue. Catholic and Protestant leaders now say that they will urge their people not to vote for approval of the new constitution.

President Mwai Kibaki had convened the talks with religious leaders, hoping to find a mutually acceptable solution to the abortion debate. But his week the government announced: "It was impossible to amend the law to accommodate the concerns of Christian church leaders." Bishop Philip Sulumeti, the deputy chairman of the Kenyan Catholic bishops' conference, confirmed that the government could not "provide any satisfactory solutions to address the concerns" of the Christian leaders.

 

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Further information:

• Kenyan churches oppose constitution over abortion (AP)
• Kenya constitutional talks with church collapse after clergy pull-out (ENI)