A nurse in Kenya wrote to us about a patient she knew who felt extreme shame, which led to tragic consequences.
I had a client and after helping her to secure an abortion I asked her if she would use a family planning method, but she declined because she said she would never indulge in sex again.
In Kenya one has the right to agree or disagree on any service.
Six months later this client came back for an abortion for an accidental pregnancy. She used another name, but in my mind I remembered her. I counseled her and offered her contraception. She declined at the time, but said she would return in two weeks.
A year later a relative brought her in. She was bleeding vaginally. She confessed that she had gotten an abortion on the street because she was too ashamed to face me again.
I had to refer her because she had a rupture of the uterus. A hysterectomy was done and she was very regretful.