By Arnold Neliba
NAIROBI, JUNE 23, 2020 (CISA)-The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops has faulted plans to introduce Comprehensive Sex Education in schools as a way of curbing teenage pregnancies, and urged parents to prioritize their children’s wellness and safety.
“Parents have the god-given privilege and obligation to bring forth life and to nurture every life they bring forth especially in matters of virtues, values and character building including age appropriate human sexuality education,” the bishop said on a June 21 read by Rt. Rev. Joseph Mbatia, Bishop of Nyahururu and Chairman on the KCCB Health Commission.
In the statement titled, Message of Love, Hope and Care During Time of Covid-19, the bishops acknowledged that during the Covid-19 times, especially as schools remain closed, many children are exposed to numerous risks such as domestic violence, alcohol and substance abuse, defilement, and lack of basic necessities of life.
“As Catholic bishops we strongly hold that safeguarding of all children is everyone’s responsibility. We reiterate our believe that strong family values and personal responsibility on nurturing and safeguarding children can go a long way towards eradicating or significantly reducing child sexual exploitation and the resultant teenage pregnancies that scatter life goals of our dear children.”
Further Bishop Mbatia stressed that the bishops’ conference was opposed to attempts to legalize abortion through the Reproductive Healthcare Bill currently at the senate.
On June 22, Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) met to design joint strategies on how to identify current threats to the Reproductive Healthcare Bill and to design strategies that ensure the success of the Bill at the Senate.
According to the programme preview to CISA, some of the strategies being put in place include holding parliamentary campaigns to protect against coercion to drop the bill and ensuring the bill is not delayed by the House Committee in parliament.
