Abortion
In Islam, abortion is generally haram, or forbidden, but allowed in some circumstances.
The Qur'an forbids the killing of children for the fear of poverty or sustenance.
- ...kill not your children on a plea of want; We provide sustenance for you and for them (Qur'an 6:151)
- 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. (Qur'an 17:31)
If the abortion is necessary to save the woman's life, Muslims universally agree that her life takes precedence over the life of the fetus. Muslim jurists allow abortion in this context based on the principle that "the greater evil should be warded off by the lesser evil ." In these cases the physician is considered a better judge than the scholar.
Most Muslim scholars hold that the child of rape is a legitimate human being and therefore subject to the same laws of abortion (i.e. its abortion is permitted only if the fetus is less than 4 months old, or if it endangers the life of its mother). Some scholars disagree with this position. Some Muslim scholars also argue that abortion is permitted if the newborn might be sick in some way that would make its care exceptionally difficult for the parents (e.g. deformities, mental retardation, etc.).
Read more about this topic: Islamic Sexual Jurisprudence
Famous quotes containing the word abortion:
“If the vice president thinks it’s disgraceful for an unmarried woman to bear a child, and if he believes that a woman cannot adequately raise a child without a father, then he’d better make sure that abortion remains safe and legal.”
—Diane British (b. 1948)
“... abortion opponents love little babies as long as they are in somebody else’s uterus.”
—Joycelyn Elders (b. 1933)
“[The Republicans] offer ... a detailed agenda for national renewal.... [On] reducing illegitimacy ... the state will use ... funds for programs to reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies, to promote adoption, to establish and operate children’s group homes, to establish and operate residential group homes for unwed mothers, or for any purpose the state deems appropriate. None of the taxpayer funds may be used for abortion services or abortion counseling.”
—Newt Gingrich (b. 1943)