Catholic Activists Denounce African Healthcare Group Turning “pharmacies into illegal abortion shops” in Kenya

Nairobi, 19 August, 2025 / 11:20 AM

Catholic activists under their umbrella organization CitizenGO Africa, are calling for an end to the activities of IPAS Africa Alliance, a Women’s Reproductive Health and Rights group, which they say is promoting the use of dangerous abortion pills by vulnerable Kenyan girls and women.

In a Monday, August 18 petition, citizenGo Campaigns Director for Africa and the United Nations, Ann Kioko, has said that under the false label of “healthcare”, the group that is a beneficiary of foreign funding is flooding Kenyan pharmacies, schools, and slums with materials that facilitate chemical abortions.

“With foreign money, IPAS bribes health workers, bends the law, and turns pharmacies into illegal abortion shops,” Ms. Kioko says, and adds, “Minors are caught in the trap. Girls are left to bleed, suffer trauma, and even risk death—without care, support, or accountability.”

With these kinds of activities going on in such places, the Kenyan Catholic activist says that “Babies are expelled in bathrooms and women are abandoned when complications come.”

“Kenya’s laws protect unborn life, but IPAS is exploiting loopholes. They hand out abortion pills without scans, prescriptions, or medical supervision. No doctors. No follow-up. Just pills delivered through WhatsApp or anonymous pharmacies,” she laments.

The CitizenGo official adds, “The consequences are devastating. Women face incomplete abortions, uncontrolled bleeding, and deadly infections. Emotional scars last for years. This is not healthcare. It is exploitation of our sisters, nieces, and daughters for profit.”

Ms. Kioko says she finds it unfortunate that the group is not just carrying out its activities in Kenya but has also extended operations to Uganda, Nigeria, Malawi, and South Africa among other African countries.

IPAS and its partners, she laments, “flood entire regions with abortion pills, especially where young women have little access to medical care. Africa is being used as a testing ground for unsafe practices.”

Ms. Kioko says that the groups are now using social media to promote their agenda on abortion misleading the unsuspecting youths into accepting their products.

“They also flood social media with slick adverts, working hand in hand with local affiliates to normalize abortion among teens,” she says, and adds, “They bypass parents, communities, and laws, embedding abortion into cultures under slogans like ‘choice.’ Behind that word is nothing but trauma and death.”

If nothing is done, Ms. Kioko warns, “the damage will spread. Abortion pills will be given out without restrictions. Minors will be abused in secrecy. Late-term abortions will take place behind closed doors. Pharmacies will replace clinics. WhatsApp will replace doctors. Human lives will be replaced with silence.”

The Kenyan Catholic activist further says that IPAS is not only breaking Kenya’s laws, but it is also exploiting the most vulnerable across Africa.

The petition, she explains, “is our chance to say no. No to turning Kenya into a dumping ground for abortion pills. No to the abuse of our daughters. No to foreign profiteers who trade life for money.”

“Kenya's cultural values and pro-life laws are under serious threat from IPAS’s reckless, foreign-funded abortion campaign. We urge immediate action, conduct a thorough investigation into IPAS's illegal activities and hold them accountable for harming countless lives,” Ms. Kioko says.

In the August 18 petition, the citizenGo Campaigns Director for Africa appeals, “Let's safeguard maternal health, protect our youth, and uphold Kenya’s moral integrity.”