Muslim Views On Abortion.

by opperd (student)

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Abortion

current law on abortion

Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 24 weeks.

In UK abortion is only allowed if two doctors agree that the mother’s life or her mental or physical health is at risk.

Abortion is also allowed when the unborn child has medical problems or birth defects e.g. If the child will be born severely handicapped. It is also allowed for social and/or economic reasons, e.g. if the mother cannot afford to support a child

Abortion is also allowed in cases of rape and incest.

Why abortion is a controversial issue?

Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 24 weeks.

Abortion is controversial because some people believe a foetus is a living, breathing person because it has a heartbeat when really it only has the potential (medically speaking) to become a living, breathing person. A foetus does not have human rights but people like to play the murder card even though abortion isn't legally defined as murder.

Some people don't agree with abortion 100% but others are lax about their beliefs and believe that abortions should be legal and are morally correct in the case of rape or if it's detrimental to the mother's health. Murder is still murder to these people but obviously, the rules can be changed for certain people.

There's a lot of information that states abortion as murder and misinforms people of the side effects. People believe it can leave you infertile and cause cancer because of this. Most of this comes from anti-abortion extremists and religious fanatics.

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Arguments for and against abortion

Some people think that abortion is acceptable is called pro-choice. The pro-choice campaign would agree with abortion. It believes that women should have the right to choose whether or not she keeps the baby as it is her body and ultimately her life. The baby could be unwanted because it poses a risk to the mother’s mental or physical health therefore abortion is the best outcome. The UK law states that a woman can have an abortion, if 2 doctors agree, up to 24 weeks. Muslims, despite it being forbidden in Islam, will ...

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Arguments for and against abortion

Some people think that abortion is unacceptable is called pro-life. The pro-life campaign would disagree with abortion. On the other hand it is wrong to abort an unwanted baby because life begins at conception. So abortion is always wrong because it is ending a life. Life is God-given and sacred and no one has the right to take it away. Muslims also believe that abortion is wrong. In the Qur’an it says: “No severer of womb-relationship ties will ever enter paradise.” Muslims believe that poverty is not a good enough reason to want an abortion. In the Qur’an it says: “You shall not kill your children for fear of want. We will provide for them and for you. To kill is a sin.”

Muslim attitudes to abortion

There are different attitudes to euthanasia among Muslims because everyone has their own opinions.

There are 3 different Muslim attitudes to abortion and an Islamic view according to Quran.

Some Muslims believe that abortion is not allowed because of sanctity of life, argument that all life is holy and belongs to god. Also life can only be given and taken by god; no one has the right to take on Allah's role. Some Muslims disagree and say that abortion up to 120 days of pregnancy is allowed, if the mother's health is at risk or if the unborn baby's health is at risk. This is because according to Hadith and Islamic scholars, abortion is allowed up to 120 days of pregnancy because this is when the fetus becomes a child.

However Most Muslims agree and say that abortion is allowed if the mother’s life is at risk because the death of an unborn child is a lesser evil than the death of the mother. Also the Islamic shariah states that the mother's life always takes priority.

The Quran says that abortion is a sin against god and so is forbidden. However most Muslims believe that it can go ahead if the mother's life is at risk because the mother is alive and has great responsibilities but the fetus has not yet developed a human personality. In this situation, abortion is far from desirable but is lesser than the two evils. Muslim's believe that life is a gift from god. No one has life as a right; it is a loan and must be paid back to Allah. Finally the Quran reminds women that on the day of judgement, the aborted infants will want to know from their mother why they were killed.

“You shall not kill your children for fear of want. We will provide for them and for you. To kill is a sin.”