Where major religious groups stand on abortion pew. The islamic code of medical ethics 4 being a good example of this. I would like to know your opinion on the permissibility of abortions in islam. The debate over abortion as a whole begins with the discussion of when life begins. The future of abortion rights in islam there is no explicit reference to abortion in the quran, and classical jurisprudence and modernday religious scholarship highlight the diversity of islamic. Pdf abortion in islamic countries legal and religious. Turkish republic is the only muslim country ruled with secular democracy and one of the. Since the wellknown ethical theories have emerged from western world, the position of islamic ethics regarding main issues of medical ethics has been overlooked. Islam allows abortion to save the life of the mother because it sees this as the lesser of two evils and there is a general principle in sharia muslim law of choosing the lesser of two evils. However, sunni scholars have held various opinions on the matter. Abortion literally means the deliberate termination of human. In islam, abortion is not permitted except in limited circumstances where its certain benefit to the mother outweighs the harm of ending the fetuss life or potential life. It presents contemporary rulings of shiite jurisprudents on abortion and concludes with a case study of the recent parliamentary laws passed in the islamic.
Reform efforts, including progressive interpretations of islam, have resulted in laws allowing for early abortion on request in two countries. In case of rape the woman should use the morning after pill or ru486 immediately after the sexual assault in order to prevent the possible implantation of. The discussions are based entirely on the holy quran, sunna, and the formal legal rulings propounded by the jurists of the four major sunni schools of islamic. Abortion in egypt is prohibited by articles 260264 of the penal code of 1937. Statutes of abortions in islamic states between conservativism and liberalism the legalization of abortion is variable in islamic states just as is the islamic view towards abortion.
Abortion from an islamic ethical point of view international journal. In islam, it is forbidden haram to abort the fetus and if this is done, it would result in the diyah1 having to be paid. In the following paragraphs, we will work backwards towards conception, expounding on the positions of the four major madhabs, or interpretive schools of islamic law. This chapter considers the islamic approach to the questions of family planning, contraception, and abortion.
Islam s approach to the issue of birth control and abortion is very balanced. The range of views on the permissibility of abortion within islamic scholarship also reflects the fact that the moral status of the foetus in islamic law is contested, because the beginning of life is imprecisely defined in the quran and hadith. This law approved therapeutic abortion before 16 weeks of gestation under limited circumstances, including medical conditions related to fetal and maternal health. However, abortion is dealt with in highly sensitivity, and so some detailed discussion could be useful, where the ulama prefer to make a specific resolution based on islamic. An abortion may occur spontaneously, in which case it. The diversity found across the muslim world is apparent in different countries abortion laws and practices. Turkish republic is the only muslim country ruled with secular democracy and one of the three. Pdf abortion in islamic countrieslegal and religious. Controversies and considerations regarding the termination. The debate over abortion is still controversial as ever. Abortion, ethics, islam, life right, foetus, ensoulment, science, hadith. We have many sections including islamic knowledge,the muslim family,youth with a mission,home education,new world order, comparative religion and much more abortion in islam by elsayed kandil lecture given in australia.
In islam, the fetus is believed to become a living soul after four months of gestation, and abortion after. Dar uliftah jummah masjid 39, royal street, port louis, mauritius telfax. Participating consciously and willingly in conducting abortive operations is a serious crime. Islams approach to the issue of birth control and abortion is very balanced. Traditionally, abortion was not deemed permissible by muslim scholars. Induced abortion is an ethically charged issue that has been continuously discussed in the ethics literature. Islamic teachings on abortion islam values the traditional family and encourages procreation. The diyah is the responsibility of the person who was in charge of carrying out the abortion. After 120 days, however, a fetus is a muslim person and should be treated accordingly, although the punishment for killing an older fetus still. Abortion in islamic ethics, and how it is perceived in turkey. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. In islam, the fetus is believed to become a living soul after 120 days gestation, and abortion after that point is viewed as impermissible.
Law, ethics and medicine therapeutic abortion in islam. It is estimated that globally 50 million unborn babies are killed annually, resulting in the deaths of 200,000 pregnant women and the suffering of millions. In case of rape the woman should use the morning after pill or ru486 immediately after the sexual assault in order to prevent the possible implantation of a fertilized ovum. An islamic research institution dedicated to dismantling doubts and nurturing conviction by addressing relevant topics affecting todays society. In islam, and most religions, abortion is forbidden. Muslims constitute a considerable amount of world population.
It is estimated that globally 50 million unborn babies are killed annually, resulting in the deaths. Answered by shaykh muhammad ibn adam alkawthari reprinted from sunnipath, the online islamic academy. Islam is considerably liberal concerning abortion, which is dependent on i the threat of harm to mothers, ii the status of the pregnancy before or after ensoulment on the 120 th day of gestation, and iii the presence of foetal anomalies that are incompatible with life. An abortion may occur spontaneously, in which case it is also called a miscarriage, or it may.
The foetus is generally considered viable after 24 weeks of pregnancy. It allows women to prevent pregnancy but forbids them to terminate it. This paper provides an overview of legal, religious, medical and social factors that serve to support or hinder womens access to safe abortion services. Many islamic citation needed thinkers recognize exceptions to this rule for certain circumstances. In the name of allah, most compassionate, most merciful, abortion and the termination of pregnancy is the expulsion of a foetus from the womb. Introduction abortion literally means the deliberate termination of human pregnancy, the natural expulsion of a foetus from the womb before birth. In islam, it is forbidden haram to abort the fetus and if this is done, it would result in the diyah74 having to be paid. Slide 22 bioethics in islam abortion there is a difference of opinion among muslim scholars concerning abortion during the embryonic stage of the conception, that is, when the embryo is less than four months old and not a fully functional human being. Islam is considerably liberal concerning abortion, which is dependent on i the threat of harm to mothers, ii the status of the pregnancy before or after ensoulment on the 120th day of gestation, and iii the presence of foetal anomalies that are incompatible with life.
Still, the unmet needs among women in the muslim planning. Pdf abortion in different islamic jurisprudence leila. Rules about abortions according to jafari fiqh rule 1. Abortion, deliberately committed as a solution or remedy, is in essence quite severely opposed to moral law. Shiite scholars considered it forbidden after implantation of the fertilised ovum. Abortion an islamic perspective journal of the british. Induced abortion for social reasons is spreading all over the world. Family planning, contraception, and abortion in islam. The koran does not explicitly address abortion, but there is general agreement in islam that abortion is only permitted for the most serious reasons, such as saving a womans life.
I have read several of your books and i highly respect your opinion. And even then, it is only allowed before life is breathed into the fetus, variously regarded as within the first 40, 80 or 120 days. The future of abortion rights in islam opendemocracy. The islamic ethics of abortion 123 indicate that a fetus before the gestational age of 120 days is not a muslim or even a person, although the fetus is treated as a potential person in some sense. Abortion is among the most widely discussed concepts of medical ethics. In contrast to judeochristian traditions, islam does not teach that procreation is the finalend of marriage.
Similarly, in orthodox judaism there is disagreement among rabbis and scholars about the issue. If the doctor was to perform it through an operation or by injecting some medication into the woman and through this. In order to explore an islamic perspective on these issues, it is necessary to have a broader grasp of some of the fundamentals of islam. Islamic scholars vary in their opinions about contraception, but only the most conservative scholars prohibit birth control in all instances. Abortion is generally disapproved, but not forbidden. Virtually all scholars consider allowances for the mothers health, and most allow for at least some forms of birth control when. Abortion after the implantation of the fertilized ovum in the womb is absolutely forbidden and is considered a crime against the law of god, as well as the foetus. Islam and abortion ids bulletin institute of development studies. In this essay, the opinions of the main schools of thought were considered, as well as sources that deal with the medical aspect of abortion in relevance with islam. For instance, in islam, which lacks a single organizational authority, there are a range of views among scholars about when life begins and thus when abortion is morally acceptable. In islam, the fetus is believed to become a living soul after four months of gestation, and abortion after that point is generally viewed as impermissible. As one of every four people in the world is of the muslim religion, it is important to learn more about the islamic point of view toward this dilemma in medical ethics. This chapter begins by discussing some of the essential islamic teachings about god and humanity, which form the basis for an islamic approach to.
Islamic medical association abortion an islamic perspective background abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy before viability i. Abortion is forbidden under normal circumstances by nearly all the major world religions. Although widely practiced worldwide, there has been much debate as. After 120 days, however, a fetus is a muslim person and should be treated accordingly, although the punishment for killing an older. Each of you is constituted in your mothers womb for. Muslims views on abortion are shaped by the hadith as well as by the opinions of legal and religious scholars and commentators.
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