Abortion is forbidden under normal circumstances by nearly all the major world religions. Traditionally, abortion was not deemed permissible by Muslim scholars. Shiite scholars considered it forbidden after implantation of the fertilised ovum. However, Sunni scholars have held various opinions on the matter, but all agreed that after 4 months gestation abortion was not permitted. In addition, classical Islamic scholarship had only considered threats to maternal health as a reason for therapeutic abortion. Recently, scholars have begun to consider the effect (...) of severe fetal deformities on the mother, the families and society. This has led some scholars to reconsider the prohibition on abortion in limited circumstances. This article reviews the Islamic basis for the prohibition of abortion and the reasons for its justification. Contemporary rulings from leading Shiite scholars and from the Sunni school of thought are presented and reviewed. The status of abortion in Muslim countries is reviewed, with special emphasis on the therapeutic abortion law passed by the Iranian Parliament in 2003. This law approved therapeutic abortion before 16 weeks of gestation under limited circumstances, including medical conditions related to fetal and maternal health. Recent measures in Iran provide an opportunity for the Muslim scholars in other countries to review their traditional stance on abortion. (shrink)

In the West there seems to be a clear cut-line between the proponents and opponents of abortion. The former tend to justify their choice by calling for consequentialistic arguments, while the latter are, in huge majority, deontologists. The issue of abortion has been long debated in Islam. Those debates however lacked in intensity and rabidity when compared with their Western counterparts. This article is an attempt to compare the two standpoints and point at the reasons of that discrepancy. The paper (...) begins with a description of two Western ethical frameworks: consequentialism and deontology, which then are linked with two contradictory attitudes toward abortion, i.e. utilitarianism based pro-choice and deontological pro-life that perceives abortion as murder.The nature of Islamic ethics, akhlāk, is elucidated in the next part of the paper. The main sources of moral conduct, i.e., the Qur’ān and the Sunnahare presented and the main concepts, including ḥarām(forbidden) or ḥalāl(allowed) are explained.The forth part deals with moral status of terminating the life of a foetus in Islam. There is a reference to the sources of the creed, namely the Qur’ān, the most relevant ḥadīth and fatwas. There are arguments provided for and against abortion, including the one due to social reasons before the 120th day of pregnancy and a total prohibition after this date.The article is concluded with the statement that various ethical approaches to abortion area manifestation of somewhat different ways of moral reasoning between the West and the Islamic world. (shrink)