Islamic View On Abortion.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

ISLAMIC VIEW ON ABORTION

In principle, the Koran condemns the killing of humans (except in the case of defense or as capital punishment), but it does not explicitly mention abortion. This leads Islamic theologians to take up different viewpoints: while the majority of early Islamic theologians permitted abortion up to day 40 of pregnancy or even up to day 120, many countries today interpret these precepts protecting unborn children more conservatively. Although there is no actual approval of abortion in the world of Islam, there is no strict, unanimous ban on it, either.

The Koran is based not only on the assumption that the first humans – Adam and his wife – were created by God, but also on the assumption that every individual is one of God’s creatures, is His property and servant. It is therefore fundamentally not up to the created individual to determine single-handedly the length of his own life or of the lives of others, who are also God’s property, or to end others’ lives prematurely. The Koran clearly disapproves of killing other humans: “Take not life which Allah has made sacred” (6.151; see also 4.29). It threatens the murderer with retaliation in this life (“O ye who believe! The law of equality is prescribed to you in cases of murder…”, 2.178) and the punishment of Hell in the life to come for the one who premeditatedly murders a fellow Muslim: “If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (for ever)” (4.93). As to whether abortion is a form of killing a human, the Koran does not make any explicit statements. Only Sure 17.31 warns believers in general: “Kill not your children for fear of want. We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin..” Hence, theologians have concluded that the killing of a fetus is not permissible as soon as one can speak of it as of a “child”, a person whose parts are fully formed and into whom a soul has been breathed. There is no agreement among legal scholars – including those of the founders of the four schools of religious law of the early Islamic period – as to the exact point in time this happens, however.

The Hanafi school (predominant in Turkey, the Middle East and Central Asia) allows abortions to take place principally until day 120; some jurists restrict this provision to “good cause”, e.g. if the mother is still nursing an infant and fears that her milk may run out during the new pregnancy. In aborting up to day 120, the woman commits a mere moral transgression, not a crime. The Shafi school (Southeast Asia, southern Arabia, parts of East Africa) allows abortions to be performed up to day 120. For the Maliki school (prevalent in North and Black Africa) an abortion is permissible ...

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Some Shiite groups, such as the Ismailites, do not permit abortions to take place at all. In case of infringements of this law, abortions before day 40 are penalized with a monetary fee. Other Shiite groups such as the Zaydites allow abortions to be performed up to day 120, equating an abortion up to this point with contraception. Whoever injures a pregnant woman to the extent that she loses her child must pay compensation according to Islamic law. Strictly speaking, this money belongs to the dead child, who is to inherit it. The family of the woman who undergoes an abortion must also pay compensation if the child’s father had not consented to the abortion performed on her.

Several differences become clear, however, between modern legal practices and the statements made by early Islamic jurists. In principle, the protection of unborn lives is today in the forefront, i.e. modern-day legal scholars judge more conservatively than the authors of the early Islamic legal texts. Exceptions are made in some countries if the life of the mother is endangered, based on Sure 2.233: "A mother should not be made to suffer because of her child.” As a result, abortion is possible for health reasons up to day 90 in many countries. In Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey abortion is fully prohibited (an exception is made if the mother’s life is endangered); this does not imply, however, that abortions are not at all performed. Tunisia’s liberal abortion practice allows for abortions to be performed up to the end of the third month. There, abortions are principally permissible for single as well as married women in the first three months, provided that a registered doctor performs them. The approval of the husband or of a male guardian is not required in Tunisia.

Some contemporary voices speak out fully against abortion, arguing that Islam is granted strength through multitudes of children. Traditionally, a large family with several sons has always been the ideal situation in the Islamic world. Abortion in this context is compared with murder, with references to the endangered health of the woman. Other voices view abortion as a type of birth control and refer to the fact that the wives of prophets also practiced birth control with the approval of Muhammad. Muslim women’s rights advocates demand the right to free abortion in connection with the demand for self-determination. The hesitation of many doctors, for fear of legal prosecution, to perform abortions in clinics leads to illegal operations and numerous cases of death. A number of legal assessments (fatwas) have been published on the subject of abortion; these support one viewpoint or the other but do not legally have the character of law and are therefore not binding.

From a Christian perspective

If one takes into consideration the Koran’s clear condemnation of murder in general and of the killing of children in particular, as well as the view repeated many times in the Koran that man is one of God’s creatures and will be held accountable by Him, the rather extensive liberalness of early as well as contemporary Islamic theologians on the subject of abortion is surprising, as is the fact that abortion is at least tolerated in a number of exceptional situations in many Islamic countries. In general, abortion may be judged morally reprehensible, but it is deemed to be neither actual murder nor manslaughter.