Introduction

Abortion is a painful topic for couples facing a dilemma The abortion debate deals with the rights and wrongs of deliberately ending a pregnancy before normal childbirth, killing the foetus in the process. Abortion is a very painful topic for women and men who find themselves facing the moral dilemma of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. It's one of the most polarising moral issues - most people are on one side or the other, very few are undecided.

The primary questions

The moral debate about abortion deals with two separate questions:
1. Is abortion morally wrong? 2. Should abortion be legal or illegal?

The secondary questions

But those two questions don't end the debate. If we conclude that abortion is not morally wrong, that doesn't mean that it's right to have an abortion; we need to ask whether having an abortion is the best thing (or least bad thing) to do in each particular case. If we conclude that abortion is morally wrong, that doesn't mean that it's always impermissible to have an abortion; we need to ask whether having an abortion is less wrong than the alternatives.

The two sides

On one side are those who call themselves 'pro-life'. They say that intentionally caused abortion is always wrong (although it may on very rare occasions be the best thing to do). On the other side are those who call themselves 'pro-choice' or 'supporters of abortion rights', and who regard intentional abortion as acceptable in some circumstances.

The silent 'victim'

People feel particularly strongly about abortion because there is no way of getting any opinion from the foetus - the potential 'victim' - about the issue (as there is when considering euthanasia), and because the foetus can easily be portrayed as an entirely innocent and defenceless being.

Moral personhood
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One of the first issues that need clarifying when thinking about abortion is the idea of what we mean when we talk about 'human life.' When people talk about 'human life' they may mean:

a member of the biological human species - having the human genetic code

But they may mean something very different:

a being that possesses certain human characteristics in addition to the human genetic code o characteristics often suggested might be the ability to think, to imagine, to communicate o but the lists of characteristics put forward may be designed to limit the definition of human in the way the speaker wants a being that is a 'moral person', i.e. one that has rights, and probably duties too

And the time at which a foetus gets the right to life because it's achieved the relevant list of characteristics can vary from the moment of conception to the time the baby is born. (In fact for some philosophers, very young babies don't really qualify as having earned the right to life by possessing the right characteristics. Fortunately for young children, these philosophers concede that young babies do have the right to life as a result of tradition and law instead.)

Does it matter?
When does a foetus get the right to life? Yes of course it does, because without getting the point sorted out people can find themselves arguing about completely different things, even though they're both using words like 'human being'. But it may not matter in terms of pure moral philosophy, since there are cases when most people agree that even if the foetus is a person, abortion may be morally justified. And some philosophers have argued that abortion can be morally justified even where there is no risk to the physical or mental health of the mother.

Female infanticide
What is infanticide?
Infanticide is the unlawful killing of very young children. It is found in both indigenous and sophisticated cultures around the world.

Female infanticide
Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of girl babies.
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It is also described as gender-selective killing or "gendercide". (Similar words like 'gynocide' and 'femicide' are used to describe the killing of females of any age.) Female infanticide is more common than male infanticide, and in some countries, particularly India and China, is likely to have serious consequences on the balance of the sexes in the population. The reasons behind it are almost always cultural, rather than directly religious. The causes:

Anti-female bias
Societies that practise female infanticide always show many other signs of bias against females. Women are perceived as subservient because of their role as carers and homemakers, whilst men predominantly ensure the family's social and economic stability.

Family economics
Girl babies are often killed for financial reasons.

Earning power: Men are usually the main income-earners, either because they are more employable or earn higher wages for the same work, or because they are able to do more agricultural work in subsistence economies. Since male babies have a greater income potential, they are less likely to be killed. Potential pensions: In many societies, parents depend on their children to look after them in old age. But in many of these cultures a girl leaves her parental family and joins her husband's family when she marries. The result is that parents with sons gain extra resources for their old age, when their sons marry, while parents with daughters lose their 'potential pensions' when they marry and move away. This gives parents a strong reason to prefer male children. Some parents (particularly poor ones) who can't afford to support a large family, will kill female babies. Girls are considered a drain on family resources during their childhood without bringing economic benefits later on. Dowry: Some girl babies are killed so that the family doesn't have to pay a dowry when they get married. In Indian society it is tradition for the parents of the bride to give a dowry to the groom and his family. The dowry consists of large amounts of money and valuable goods. For families with several daughters this can be a serious financial burden.

Government policy
Governmental policies have also increased female infanticide as an unpredicted side-effect. For example, when the Chinese Government introduced a One Child per Family Policy there was a surge in female infanticide. Families needed to have a son because of their higher earning potential, so a girl baby was an economic disaster for them, and there was a strong motive to ensure that girl babies did not survive.
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Caste
Some female infants are killed because they are regarded as being lower in the caste hierarchy than males. Female infanticide is a significant problem in parts of Asia - infanticide does occur in the West, but usually as isolated family tragedies with no underlying pattern or gender bias.

India
Female infanticide and female foeticide (the selective abortion of girls in the womb) are significant issues in India. Female infanticide has been a problem for centuries, partly as a result of the patriarchal nature of Indian society.

Tackling the issue

Modern India has tried several ways to tackle the issue. One initiative in the state of Tamil Nadu was taken to attack the underlying economic problems. Where parents had one or two daughters but no son, and either of the parents was willing to be sterilised, the government offered the parents money to help look after the children. This money was to be paid annually throughout the daughter's education, followed by a lump sum on her twentieth birthday, either for use as a dowry or to fund further education.

China
Female infanticide has existed in China for a long time, and although the One Child per Family policy has added to the problem, it didn't cause it. The One Child Policy was introduced by the Chinese Government in 1979 with the intention of keeping the population within sustainable limits even in the face of natural disasters and poor harvests, and improving the quality of life for the Chinese population as a whole. Under the policy, parents who have more than one child may have their wages reduced and be denied some social services. Despite the egalitarian nature of Chinese society, many parents believe that having a son is a vital element of providing for their old age. Therefore in extreme cases, a baby is killed if it is not of the preferred sex, because of the pressure not to have more than one child.

Tackling the issue

The Chinese Government have acknowledged the problem and introduced laws to deal with it:

Marriage law prohibits female infanticide.

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Women's Protection Law prohibits infanticide and bans discrimination against women who choose to keep female babies. Maternal Health Care Law forbids the use of technological advances, such as ultrasound machines, to establish the sex of foetuses, so as not to pre-determine the fate of female infants or encourage selective abortion.

Origins of infanticide
Infanticide occurs in most cases as a way of restricting poverty and population. Throughout history infanticide has been regarded as a productive and efficient way to control starvation and poor standards of living caused by over population.

Confucianism
The male bias in China is deeply rooted in Chinese traditions which leads parents to want their first child to be a boy. Confucianism regards male children as more desirable since they provide security for the elderly, work and are important for the performance of ancestral rites.

Hinduism
Hindu authorities condemn infanticide. Son-preference in Hindu cultures is largely based on the fact that men are better providers, and that sons are required for the proper performance of funeral rites. Some writers argue that Hindu culture has long had a patriarchal bias against women.

Sikhism
Sikh authorities condemn infanticide. The Sikh religion is one of the most gender-neutral, and explicitly proclaims the equality of men and women. This makes it more surprising that censuses in India show there are far more male children than female children in the Sikh community. In practice there does appear to be a strong preference for boys in the Sikh heartland. The community appears to give greater respect to the parents of boys, and boys themselves. In response the Sikh religious organisation Akal Takht has re-emphasised that women are equal to men. It has banned neo-natal sex identification, selective abortion and the killing of female babies.

Islam
Islam has always condemned infanticide.

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Female infanticide was common in pre-Islamic Arabia. However, by the time of Muhammad, and the revelation of the Qur'an female infanticide was strictly forbidden, and regarded as seriously as adult murder. The Qur'an on female infanticide: When the infant girl, is buried alive, is questioned, for what crime she was killed. Surah 81 v 8 - 9 You shall not kill your children for fear of want. We will provide for them and for you. To kill them is a grievous sin. Surah 17 v 31

Christianity
Christianity has always condemned infanticide.

Judaism
Judaism has always condemned infanticide.

Religion and abortion

All the religions have taken strong positions on abortion; they believe that the issue encompasses profound issues of life and death, right and wrong, human relationships and the nature of society, that make it a major religious concern. People involved in an abortion are usually affected very deeply not just emotionally, but often spiritually, as well. They often turn to their faith for advice and comfort, for explanation of their feelings, and to seek atonement and a way to deal with their feelings of guilt. Because abortion affects heart as well as mind, and because it involves life and death, many people find that purely intellectual argument about it is ultimately unsatisfying. For them it's not just a matter that concerns a human being and their conscience, but something that concerns a human being and their God. The theologian Stanley Hauerwas puts it like this: It may be that issues such as abortion are finally not susceptible to intellectual 'solution.' I do not mean to suggest that we cease trying to formulate the problem in the most responsible manner possible, but rather that our best recourse may be to watch how good men and women handle the tragic alternatives we often confront in abortion situations...

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For no amount of ethical reflection will ever change the basic fact that tragedy is a reality of our lives. A point is reached where we must have the wisdom to cease ethical reflection and affirm that certain issues indicate a reality more profound than the ethical. Stanley Hauerwas

Buddhism and abortion

There is no single Buddhist view on abortion: ...Most Western and Japanese Buddhists come away believing in the permissibility of abortion, while many other Buddhists believe abortion to be murder. James Hughes Buddhists believe that life should not be destroyed, but they regard causing death as morally wrong only if the death is caused deliberately or by negligence. Traditional Buddhism rejects abortion because it involves the deliberate destroying of a life. Buddhists regard life as starting at conception. Buddhism believes in rebirth and teaches that individual human life begins at conception. The new being, bearing the karmic identity of a recently deceased individual, is therefore as entitled to the same moral respect as an adult human being. Damien Keown, Science and Theology News, April 2004 Modern Buddhists, however, are more divided about the morality of abortion.

It's personal
Buddhists are expected to take full personal responsibility for everything they do and for the consequences that follow. The decision to abort is therefore a highly personal one, and one that requires careful and compassionate exploration of the ethical issues involved, and a willingness to carry the burden of whatever happens as a result of the decision. The ethical consequences of the decision will also depend on the motive and intention behind the decision, and the level of mindfulness with which it was taken.

Buddhism and killing

According to the teachings of Buddha, five conditions must be present to constitute an act of killing.

the thing killed must be a living being you, the killer, must know or be aware that it is a living being
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you must have the intention to kill it there must be an effort to kill the being must be killed as the result

Here's an example of how an abortion might constitute an act of killing:

When a baby is conceived, a living being is created and that satisfies the first condition. Although Buddhists believe that beings live in a cycle of birth death and rebirth, they regard the moment of conception as the beginning of the life of an embodied individual. After a few weeks the woman becomes aware of its existence and that meets the second condition. If she decides she wants an abortion that provides an intention to kill. When she seeks an abortion that meets the fourth condition of making an effort to kill. Finally the being is killed because of that action.

Therefore the First Precept of Buddhism - not to kill - is violated and this is tantamount to killing a human being.

Lives in the balance

Buddhists face a difficulty where an abortion is medically necessary to save the life of the mother and so a life will be lost whether there is or isn't an abortion. In such cases the moral status of an abortion will depend on the intentions of those carrying it out. If the decision is taken compassionately, and after long and careful thought then although the action may be wrong the moral harm done will be reduced by the good intentions involved.

Abortion for the sake of the baby

There are cases where not having an abortion may result in the birth of a child with medical conditions that cause it to suffer. Traditional Buddhist thinking does not deal with these cases, but it has been argued by some Buddhists that if the child would be so severely handicapped that it would undergo great suffering, abortion is permissible. The Dalai Lama has said: Of course, abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances. If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception. I think abortion should be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance. Dalai Lama, New York Times, 28/11/1993
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Karma
While it's pretty obvious why abortion is considered to generate bad karma for the mother and the abortionist it may not be so obvious why it generates bad karma for the foetus. The foetus suffers bad karma because its soul is deprived of the opportunities that an earthly existence would have given it to earn good karma, and is returned immediately to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Thus abortion hinders its spiritual progress.

Japan
Japanese Buddhists have had to make significant efforts to reconcile abortion with their religion, as abortion is common in Japan, and has been used as a form of birth control. Some followers of Japanese Buddhism who have had an abortion make offerings to Jizo, the god of lost travellers and children. They believe that Jizo will steward the child until it is reborn in another incarnation. They do this in a mizuko kuy, a memorial service for aborted children that became popular in the 1970s. (The service can also be used in cases of miscarriage or stillbirth.) The ritual includes elements of folk religion and Shinto as well as Buddhism. The writer William R. Lafleur has pointed out some difficulties with this tradition: ...within the Japanese Buddhist community the discussion of abortion is now limited largely to criticisms of those temples and temple-like organizations which employ the notion of 'foetal retribution' to coerce the "parents" of an aborted foetus into performing rituals that memorialize the foetus, remove its 'grudges,' and facilitate its rebirth or its Buddhahood. Many Buddhists find repugnant such types of manipulation of parental guilt - especially when expressed in the notion that a foetus in limbo will wreak vengeance (tatari) on parents who neglect to memorialize it. William R. Lafleur, Contestation and Consensus: the Morality of Abortion in Japan, Philosophy East and West Vol. 40, 1990

Church of England
The Church of England encourages people to think through the issue of abortion very carefully and recognises that each individual will have differing views on the subject. However, the Church's governing body, The General Synod, has passed resolutions on the matter which provide a coherent Church of England position. The Church of England combines strong opposition to abortion with a recognition that there can be - strictly limited - conditions under which it may be morally preferable to any available alternative. General Synod
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The Church of England shares the Roman Catholic view that abortion is 'gravely contrary to the moral law'. As the 1980 statement of the Board of Social Responsibility put it: In the light of our conviction that the foetus has the right to live and develop as a member of the human family, we see abortion, the termination of that life by the act of man, as a great moral evil. We do not believe that the right to life, as a right pertaining to persons, admits of no exceptions whatever; but the right of the innocent to life admits surely of few exceptions indeed. Church of England Board of Social Responsibility, 1980 However, this statement does acknowledge that under some circumstances abortion could be permissible. The 1983 resolution of Synod, after expressing concern about the number of abortions in recent years went on to recognise: That in situations where the continuance of a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother a termination of pregnancy may be justified and that there must be adequate and safe provision in our society for such situations. Church of England General Synod, 1983 The Church of England is concerned about the number of abortions carried out each year in this country. Resolutions of the General Synod have consistently sought to narrow the grounds on which abortion is carried out and have maintained that the law has been interpreted too liberally resulting in an unnecessary number of abortions. For example the 1993 General Synod resolution reiterated its view that: The number of abortions carried out since the passage of the Abortion Act 1967 is unacceptably high. Church of England General Synod, 1993 The Church of England is keen to ensure that as many abortions as possible are carried out as early as possible. However, in the rare exceptions that a termination has to be carried out beyond 24 weeks, it should only take place where there is a serious foetal disability and survival will be for a very short period of time. The Church of England has not attempted to deal with every issue associated with abortion.

Roman Catholic
The Roman Catholic Church says that deliberately causing an abortion is a grave moral wrong.
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It bases this doctrine on natural law and on the written word of God.

When life begins

The Church says that human life begins when the woman's egg is fertilised by a male sperm. From that moment a unique life begins, independent of the life of the mother and father. The features that distinguish us from our parents - the colour of our eyes, the shape of our face are all laid down in the genetic code that comes into existence then. Each new life that begins at this point is not a potential human being but a human being with potential.

History
Since the sixteenth century, causing or having an abortion led to automatic excommunication. This is stated in the Code of Canon Law (1983): "A person who actually procures an abortion incurs automatic excommunication" (Canon 1398). The Church condemned abortion as early as the 2nd century CE: a document called the Didache, written in the 2nd century (some time after 100 CE), states: "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish".

Pro-life groups
The strong stance taken by the Roman Catholic Church has underpinned many of the pro-life groups which have been formed to challenge the legalisation of abortion. The Church itself has played a major part in the politics of the abortion debate throughout the world.

Catholic - current position

Pope John Paul II's view
Pope John Paul II took a very strong line on abortion, describing it as murder. During a trip to Poland in August 2002 he reiterated his opposition to abortion: Frequently man lives as if God did not exist, and even puts himself in God's place... He claims for himself the Creator's right to interfere in the mystery of human life. Rejecting divine law and moral principles, he openly attacks the family. Pope John Paul II, 2002 In 1995, Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical (a teaching letter to the whole Catholic Church) called Evangelium Vitae ('The Gospel of Life').
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He stated the fundamental position of the Church: I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral. Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 1995 In this he was directly referring to abortion, euthanasia and the destruction of human embryos in medical research. On abortion specifically the Pope wrote: I declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 1995 In October 1996 the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales published a document called The Common Good in which they said that all human rights flow from one fundamental right: the right to life. This followed a 1980 document in which the seven Catholic Archbishops of Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) issued a document called 'Abortion and the Right to Live'. This emphasised that the Church's opposition to abortion stemmed from recognition of the basic rights of all individuals, including the unborn (who have their own intrinsic value.) The Catechism of the Catholic Church reiterates this too. The 1992 version quotes from the document Donum Vitae ('the gift of life') from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (the department that deals with matters of faith and morals). It says: The inalienable rights of the person must be recognised and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by the society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the persons by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life ... from the moment of conception until death. Catechism of the Catholic Church

Implications
For many modern Catholic theologians the Church's position on abortion has very clear social and political implications. Cardinal Bernardin wrote:
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If one contends, as we do, that the right of every foetus to be born should be protected by civil law and supported by civil consensus, then our moral, political, and economic responsibilities do not stop at the moment of birth. Those who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be equally visible in support of the quality of life of the powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker. Such a quality of life posture translates into specific political and economic positions on tax policy, employment generation, welfare policy, nutrition and feeding programs, and health care. Consistency means we cannot have it both ways. We cannot urge a compassionate society and vigorous public policy to protect the rights of the unborn and then argue that compassion and significant public programs on behalf of the needy undermine the moral fibre of the society or are beyond the proper scope of governmental responsibility. Cardinal Bernardin

Catholic - opposing views

Pro-choice Catholics
A few Catholics disagree with the Vatican line on abortion. They put forward arguments like these against enforcing a total ban on abortion:

although Church teaching has for a long time stated that a foetus becomes a person when the egg is fertilised, distinguished theologians such as Augustine and Aquinas said this didn't happen until between 40 and 80 days after conception o Other Catholics might argue that the Church has a fixed position on the right to life of the foetus nonetheless the Church has affirmed the right and the responsibility of each Catholic to follow his or her own conscience on moral matters, even when it conflicts with Church teaching o others may take the view that certain absolutes cannot be subjugated to one's own will the Church has not declared that its teaching on sexual and reproductive issues is infallible o but it could be argued that the Catechism of the Catholic Church states "Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life ... from the moment of conception until death."

Even pro-choice Catholics don't regard abortion as morally good, but argue there can be situations in which it may be the least bad moral choice available.

Contradictions
Research and publications from the Alan Guttmacher Institute in America illustrate some contradictions in the Catholic stance against abortion:
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Catholic women in the United States are as likely as women in the general population to have an abortion, and 29% more likely than Protestant women. Catholic countries, even where abortion is illegal, have high levels of abortions: in Brazil, the estimated number of abortions ranges from 1 million to 2 million per year and in Peru, 5% of women of childbearing age have abortions each year, compared to 3% in the United States. 64% of US Catholics disapprove of the statement that abortion is morally wrong in every case (Survey of 493 Catholics, designed by Lake Research and Tarrance Group, for US News & World Report, Sept. 1995, margin of error 4.5%.) 72% of Catholics in Australia say decisions about abortion should be left to individual women and their doctors. (Survey for Family Planning Australia and Children by Choice, Melbourne, AGB McNair, Aug. 1996.)

Hinduism and abortion

Hinduism and abortion
Hindu medical ethics stem from the principle of ahimsa - of non-violence. When considering abortion, the Hindu way is to choose the action that will do least harm to all involved: the mother and father, the foetus and society. Hinduism is therefore generally opposed to abortion except where it is necessary to save the mother's life. Classical Hindu texts are strongly opposed to abortion:

one text compares abortion to the killing of a priest another text considers abortion a worse sin than killing one's parents another text says that a woman who aborts her child will lose her caste

Traditional Hinduism and many modern Hindus also see abortion as a breach of the duty to produce children in order to continue the family and produce new members of society. Many Hindus regard the production of offspring as a 'public duty', not simply an 'individual expression of personal choice' (see Lipner, "The classical Hindu view on abortion and the moral status of the unborn" 1989). In practice, however, abortion is practiced in Hindu culture in India, because the religious ban on abortion is sometimes overruled by the cultural preference for sons. This can lead to abortion to prevent the birth of girl babies, which is called 'female foeticide'.

The status of the foetus in Hinduism

The soul and the matter which form the foetus are considered by many Hindus to be joined together from conception.
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According to the doctrine of reincarnation a foetus is not developing into a person, but is a person from a very early stage. It contains a reborn soul and should be treated appropriately. By the ninth month the foetus has achieved very substantial awareness. According to the Garbha Upanishad, the soul remembers its past lives during the last month the foetus spends in the womb (these memories are destroyed during the trauma of birth). The Mahabharata refers to a child learning from its father while in the womb.

Reincarnation
Abortion and reincarnation
The doctrine of reincarnation, which sees life as a repeating cycle of birth, death and rebirth, is basic to Hindu thinking. The doctrine of reincarnation can be used to make a strong case against abortion: If a foetus is aborted, the soul within it suffers a major karmic setback. It is deprived of the opportunities its potential human existence would have given it to earn good karma, and is returned immediately to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Thus abortion hinders a soul's spiritual progress. Reincarnation can also be used to make a case that abortion should be permitted. Under the doctrine of reincarnation, abortion only deprives the soul of one of many births that it will have. The consequences of abortion in the framework of reincarnation are therefore not as bad as they are in those religions where a soul gets only one chance to be born and where abortion deprives the soul of all possibility of life.

Abortion and non-violence

Ahimsa - non-violence - teaches that it is wrong not only to kill living beings, but to also to kill embryos. Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa or non-violence. All life is sacred because all creatures are manifestations of the Supreme Being.

Sanctity of life
Islamic teachings on abortion

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Islam rarely permits abortion after 120 days. This foetus is about 112 days old Muslims regard abortion as wrong and haram (forbidden), but many accept that it may be permitted in certain cases. All schools of Muslim law accept that abortion is permitted if continuing the pregnancy would put the mother's life in real danger. This is the only reason accepted for abortion after 120 days of the pregnancy. Different schools of Muslim law hold different views on whether any other reasons for abortion are permitted, and at what stage of pregnancy if so. Some schools of Muslim law permit abortion in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, while others only permit it in the first 7 weeks. However, even those scholars who would permit early abortion in certain cases still regard abortion as wrong, but do not regard it as a punishable wrong. The more advanced the pregnancy, the greater the wrong. The Qur'an does not explicitly refer to abortion but offers guidance on related matters. Scholars accept that this guidance can properly be applied to abortion.

Sanctity of life
The Islamic view is based on the very high priority the faith gives to the sanctity of life. The Qur'an states: Whosoever has spared the life of a soul, it is as though he has spared the life of all people. Whosoever has killed a soul, it is as though he has murdered all of mankind. Qur'an 5:32 Most Muslim scholars would say that a foetus in the womb is recognised and protected by Islam as a human life.

Protection of the mother's life

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.
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Abortion is regarded as a lesser evil in this case because:

the mother is the 'originator' of the foetus the mother's life is well-established the mother has with duties and responsibilities the mother is part of a family allowing the mother to die would also kill the foetus in most cases

Providing for the child

The Qur'an makes it clear that a foetus must not be aborted because the family fear that they will not be able to provide for it - they should trust Allah to look after things: Kill not your offspring for fear of poverty; it is We who provide for them and for you. Surely, killing them is a great sin. Qur'an 17:32 The same (and similar) texts also ban abortion on social or financial grounds relating to the mother or the rest of the family - e.g. that the pregnancy wasn't planned and a baby will interfere with the mother's life, education or career.

For the baby's sake

Abortion for the sake of the baby
If it is confirmed in the early period of pregnancy that a foetus suffers from a defect that can't be treated and that will cause great suffering to the child, a number of scholars would say that it is permissible to abort, provided that the pregnancy is less than 120 days old.

Foetuses with a particular genetic blood disorder can be aborted A slightly more liberal opinion is that abortion within the first 120 days would be permitted if a child would be born with such physical and mental deformity as would deprive the child of a normal life. The opinion of at least two competent medical specialists is required. Other scholars disagree and hold that abortion is not permitted in such cases. There is almost unanimous opinion that after 120 days an abortion is not permissible unless the defect in the embryo puts the mother's life in danger.
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In recent times in Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khameni has issued a fatwa permitting abortion for foetuses under 10 weeks shown to have the genetic blood disorder thalassemia. And also in Iran, Grand Ayatollah Yusuf Saanei issued a fatwa which permits abortion in the first three months for various reasons. Saanei accepted that abortion was generally forbidden in Islam, but went on to say: But Islam is also a religion of compassion, and if there are serious problems, God sometimes doesn't require his creatures to practice his law. So under some conditions--such as parents' poverty or overpopulation--then abortion is allowed, Grand Ayatollah Yusuf Saanei quoted in Los Angeles Times, December 29, 2000 Widely quoted is a resolution of the Islamic jurisprudence council of Mekkah Al Mukaramah (the Islamic World League) passing a Fatwa in its 12th session held in February 1990. This allowed abortion if the foetus was: grossly malformed with untreatable severe condition proved by medical investigations and decided upon by a committee formed by competent trustworthy physicians, and provided that abortion is requested by the parents and the foetus is less than 120 days computed from moment of conception. Attributed, Mekkah Al Mukaramah, February 1990 NB: We have not been able to obtain an English language copy of this fatwa to corroborate the quote.

Rape, incest and adultery

Some scholars state that abortion where the mother is the victim of a rape or of incest is permissible in the first 120 days of the pregnancy. Others say abortion for such reasons is never permitted. Explaining the difficulty of such a case, one scholar says: I believe that the value of life is the same whether this embryo is the result of fornication with relatives or non-relatives or valid marriage. In Sharia life has the same value in all cases. Sheikh M. A. Al-Salami, Third Symposium on Medical Jurisprudence It is reported that Bosnian women raped by the Serbian army were issued a fatwa allowing them to abort, but were urged to complete the abortion before the 120 day mark. A similar fatwa was issued in Algeria. This demonstrates that Islamic law has the flexibility to be compassionate in appropriate circumstances. In Egypt (where abortion is illegal) in June 2004, Muhammad Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar, approved a draft law allowing women to abort a pregnancy that is the
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result of rape. The law would also make it legal for women to undergo an abortion more than four months after conception. His decision caused controversy among other Muslim scholars: The mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa, said Tantawi's decision was wrong and violated the Qur'an's injunction that "forbids killing innocent souls." He said, "It is haram [forbidden] to abort the fetus after life is breathed into it, in other words after 120 days." However, he added that a woman could terminate a pregnancy if she was in immediate danger. Islam does not permit abortion where an unwanted pregnancy is the result of unforced adultery.

The soul
Abortion and the soul

Abortion is not permissible after the foetus has a soul Islam forbids the termination of a pregnancy after soul or 'Ruh' is given to the foetus. There's disagreement within Islam as to when this happens. The three main opinions are:

at 120 days at 40 days when there is voluntary movement of the foetus o This usually happens during the 12th week of gestation but many women don't notice the movement until much later - sometimes as late as 20 weeks.

A relevant hadith suggests that the moment of ensoulment is 120 days: Narrated Abdullah: Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(as regards your creation), every one of you is collected in the womb of his mother for the first forty days, and then he becomes a clot for another forty days, and then a piece of flesh for another forty days. Then Allah sends an angel to write four words: He writes his deeds, time of his death, means of his livelihood, and whether he will be wretched or blessed (in religion). Then the soul is breathed into his body..." Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 549 However, it's important to note that many scholars believe that life begins at conception, and that all scholars believe that an embryo deserves respect and protection at all stages of the pregnancy.
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Islamic views on contraception

Islamic medicine has known about birth control for centuries - for example the Muslim writers Avicenna (980-1037) and Al-Razi (d 923 or 924) refer to different methods of contraception. Islam is strongly pro-family and regards children as a gift from God. Muslim sexual ethics forbid sex outside marriage, so its teachings about birth control should be understood within the context of husband and wife. There is no single attitude to contraception within Islam; however eight of the nine classic schools of Islamic law permit it. But more conservative Islamic leaders have openly campaigned against the use of condoms or other birth control methods, thus making population planning in many countries ineffective. This resistance to birth control was reflected in 2005 when a conference involving 40 Islamic scholars from 21 countries urged fresh efforts to push population planning and better reproductive health services. But although all the participants were in favour of promoting the use of contraceptives for married couples, they were reluctant to make it part of their joint declaration for fear of reprisals from the more conservative Islamic scholars in their respective countries.

The Qur'an
The Qur'an does not refer to contraception explicitly, but Muslims opposed to birth control often quote the Qur'an as saying "You should not kill your children for fear of want" (17:31, 6:151) and interpret this as including a ban on contraception as well as infanticide. Supporters of birth control argue that this interpretation is wrong. In practice most Muslim authorities permit contraception to preserve the health of the mother or the well-being of the family.

Hadith
There are a number of hadith which indicate that the Prophet knew of birth control and approved of it in appropriate circumstances.

Methods
Hadith are said to describe and approve of the withdrawal method ('azl). Scholars point out that this method may deprive the woman of both sexual fulfilment and of having children, and so should not be used without the woman's agreement.

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Egyptian scholars have argued that any method that has the same purpose as 'azl - i.e. preventing conception - is acceptable, so long as it does not have a permanent effect. Contraceptive methods that do not prevent conception but cause a very early abortion are not accepted. Contraception with the aim of having a permanently child-free marriage is not accepted. So sterilisation is wrong - partly because it prevents children permanently and partly because of a text forbidding men to castrate themselves.

Sikhism and abortion

Abortion is generally forbidden in Sikhism, as it interferes in the creative work of God - who created everything and is present in every being. Most Sikhs accept that life begins at conception (one reference is found on page 74 of the Guru Granth Sahib). So if conception has taken place, it would be a sin to destroy life and hence deliberate miscarriage or abortion is forbidden. The Sikh code of conduct does not deal with abortion (or indeed many other bioethical issues). Despite this theoretical viewpoint, abortion is not uncommon among the Sikh community in India, and there is concern that the practice of aborting female embryos because of a cultural preference for sons is growing.

Summary
Judaism and abortion
Judaism does not forbid abortion, but it does not permit abortion on demand. Abortion is only permitted for serious reasons. Judaism expects every case to be considered on its own merits and the decision to be taken after consultation with a rabbi competent to give advice on such matters. Strict Judaism permits abortion only in cases where continuing the pregnancy would put the mother's life in serious danger. In such circumstance (where allowing the pregnancy to continue would kill the mother) Judaism insists that the foetus must be aborted, since the mother's life is more important than that of the foetus. Jewish law is more lenient concerning abortions in the first forty days of pregnancy as it considers the embryo to be of relatively low value during this time.

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Abortions because of defects in the foetus or to protect the mental health of the mother are forbidden by some schools of Judaism and permitted by others under differing circumstances. The argument for allowing such abortions is normally based on the pain that will be caused to the mother if the pregnancy is allowed to continue.

Sanctity of life and abortion

Judaism has a supreme concern for the sanctity of human life. According to the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 4:5): Whoever destroys one life is as if he destroyed a whole world, and whoever preserves a life is as if he preserved the whole world. Apart from an overall regard for the sanctity of life, Judaism finds other reasons to forbid abortion:

killing a foetus breaks God's command to populate the world killing a foetus destroys something made in God's image killing a foetus is wanton destruction of part of God's creation killing a foetus destroys something that could become a being killing a foetus is an unjustifiable act of wounding it is wrong to injure oneself

Classical Jewish arguments about abortion are mainly concerned with the distinction between killing someone who is fully a person, and someone who is not so fully a person. There's more about these arguments later in this article. Abortion is not explicitly referred to in the Hebrew Bible - so the abortion arguments have to draw analogies from the text. In fact Biblical Jewish teaching doesn't deal at all with the circumstance of an abortion deliberately induced with the consent of the mother - that concept seems completely unknown. That an Israelite parent might consider intentionally aborting a foetus seems almost beyond the moral horizon of the Torah's original audience. For in the moral environment where the law was first received, the memory of genocide and infanticide was still fresh [and] every birth was precious. Lenn E. Goodman, Judaism, Human Rights, and Human Values, OUP 1998

Acceptable circumstances
Saving the mother's life
Jewish law permits abortion to save the life of the mother - in fact it insists on an abortion if this is necessary to save the mother.
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This is because the mother's life takes precedence over the life of the foetus. The danger to the mother must be clear and substantial, and the abortion cannot be done in the very last stage of pregnancy. The Mishnah states that where there is danger to the mother's life, an abortion can be performed at any stage from conception until the head of the infant emerges: If a woman has (life-threatening) difficulty in childbirth, one dismembers the embryo within her, limb by limb, because her life takes precedence over its life. However, once its head (or its 'greater part') has emerged, it may not be touched, for we do not set aside one life for another Ohalot 7:6

The mother and mental distress

There is no consistent view as to what level of mental distress on the part of the mother is needed to justify abortion. However almost all rabbis would agree that if continuing the pregnancy would cause the mother to commit suicide, then abortion is justified. (But this presumably requires that appropriate action to combat the mental distress be considered before abortion is permitted.) Lesser levels of mental distress are unlikely to justify an abortion in the eyes of most rabbis.

Rape or incest
Abortion in these cases would only be permitted if continuing the pregnancy would cause the mother sufficient distress to endanger her health.

Saving the mother 'from' the foetus

A related (but subtly different) argument operates not on the priority of the mother's life or personhood, but by classifying the foetus as a 'rodef', a 'pursuer' who is threatening the life of the mother. The foetus may therefore be killed in such a case in order to prevent the mother being killed. The great Jewish commentator Maimonides (who was also a doctor) wrote: It is a negative commandment (Deut. 25:12) not to have pity for the life of an aggressor (rodef). That is why the Sages ruled that if a woman is in hard travail the embryo is removed, either by drugs or surgery: because it is regarded as one pursuing her and trying to kill her. Maimonides, MT, Hilkhot Rotzeah 1.9 This argument justifies destroying something of high value (the foetus), because it is (actively) endangering a person's life. The humanness of the foetus is devalued because the foetus is threatening a life.
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Abortion for the sake of the baby

Traditionally Judaism does not regard the suffering that an abnormal baby might endure as a sufficient reason to justify an abortion, and most rabbis would not give permission for a foetus to be aborted for that reason. However some rabbis would give permission in such a case if it is argued that the prospect of having a deformed and suffering child is causing the mother severe mental distress. They do this on the grounds that continuing the pregnancy is a threat to the mother. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (an authority in this area) ruled that screening of embryos is forbidden if the only purpose of doing so is to check for birth defects which might lead the parents to ask for an abortion. (Screening so that the foetus may be treated if there is a problem is, of course, a good thing.) However another distinguished rabbi, Eliezar Waldenberg, has suggested that abortion for the sake of the baby is sometimes permissible. Waldenberg accepts abortion in the first trimester of a foetus which would be born with a deformity that would cause it suffering, and abortion of a foetus with a fatal defect such as Tay Sachs (a genetic defect found particularly in Asheknazi Jews) within the first two trimesters. Some rabbis have suggested that abortion might be acceptable where Down's syndrome is detected, or where the mother has German measles. This view is controversial.

The legal status of a foetus

Part of the mother's body
Traditional Judaism regards a foetus as a being that is developing towards being a person. The easiest way to conceptualise a foetus in halacha [Jewish law] is to imagine it as a fullfledged human being - but not quite. Daniel Eisenberg, M.D. In Judaism a foetus is not considered to be a person until it is born. Before that it is regarded as a part of the mother's body, although it does possess certain characteristics of a person and some status. During the first forty days after conception, it is considered 'mere fluid'. From an ethical point of view, then:

a foetus is not a person but a foetus should nonetheless be protected to some extent because it is growing towards full personhood
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so a foetus should not be destroyed or harmed except for very good reasons

The high status given to a foetus is demonstrated by the fact that Jewish law permits desecration of the Sabbath in order to save the life of a foetus. According to the Halacha or Jewish Law a foetus is considered part of the mother's body and not a full human being. The book of Exodus (21:22) says... When men fight and one of them pushes a pregnant woman and a miscarriage results, but no other damage ensues, the one responsible shall be fined according as the woman's husband may exact from him, the payment to be based on reckoning. But if other damage ensues, the penalty shall be life for life... "Other damage" is taken in this text to mean "the death of the mother." This passage is interpreted as saying that causing the foetus to miscarry is a civil wrong that gives rise to the right to financial restitution - which indicates that the foetus is not a person but killing the mother is murder, because the mother is a person. The distinguished commentator Rashi wrote: For as long as it did not come out into the world, it is not called a living thing and it is permissible to take its life in order to save its mother. Once the head has come forth, it may not be harmed because it is considered born, and one life may not be taken to save another. This passage, too, makes it clear that Judaism regards a foetus as a lesser human being than a human being who has been (at least partially) born. But although the foetus has no personhood and therefore none of the rights and privileges of a human being, it must still be protected as a potential human being, and not casually harmed or destroyed. The Talmud (commentary on Jewish oral traditions) gives other examples on the status of the foetus. The first involves the sale of a cow, which is subsequently found to be pregnant. No payment is made for the sale of the foetus to the buyer and the foetus belongs to the buyer. The second example concerns the conversion of a pregnant woman to Judaism. Jewish law regards the conversion valid for her future child as well, requiring no separate conversion for it after birth.

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