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Abortion (Arabic:إجهاض, ijhāḍ) is the expulsion of the fetus before it is fully developed. Intentional abortion is considered a crime or sin in some ethical schools, legal systems, and Islamic jurisprudence. Shi'a jurists believe that intentional abortion after the formation of the sperm and its settlement in the womb is forbidden. However, there are differences of opinion among them regarding specific cases such as danger to the mother's life, fetal defects, or illegitimate fetuses.

Conceptology and Status

Abortion or ijhāḍ is the expulsion of the fetus before its completion.[1] Medically, abortion is the termination of pregnancy before the 20th week or the expulsion of a fetus weighing less than 500 grams.[2] In jurisprudential and legal texts, the term fetus (janīn) covers the pregnancy period from the beginning of fertilization until birth.[3]

Abortion is discussed in the fields of ethics, especially medical ethics,[4] law,[5] and Islamic jurisprudence in the chapters of Marriage, Hadd punishments, Qisas, Diya (blood money), Inheritance, and also New Jurisprudential Issues (masāʾil mustaḥdatha).[6]

Injunctive Ruling of Abortion

According to Shi'a jurists, intentional abortion is forbidden,[7] and there is no disagreement among jurists on this ruling.[8] The prohibition of abortion includes all stages of the fetus after the formation of the sperm,[9] and there is no difference between a legitimate or illegitimate fetus (resulting from adultery/fornication).[10]

To prove the prohibition of abortion, verses of the Quran, including Qur'an 6:151, which indicates the prohibition of killing,[11] and also narrations quoted from the Imams (a) which forbid abortion, have been cited.[12]

Jurisprudential Ruling of Specific Cases

Defective Fetus

If the fetus is defective or disabled and its birth would definitely cause hardship and embarrassment (ʿusr wa l-ḥaraj) for the parents, jurists such as Mirza Jawad Tabrizi,[13] Makarim Shirazi,[14] Muhammad Ishaq Fayyad,[15] and Sayyid Ali Khamenei[16] have considered its abortion permissible only before the ensoulment (blowing of the spirit); but after the ensoulment, they do not consider its abortion permissible; because a fetus into which the spirit has been blown has the status of a complete human being, and the proofs for the prohibition of homicide (qatl al-nafs) apply to it.[17]

In contrast, jurists such as Imam Khomeini,[18] Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khoei,[19] and Sayyid Ali Sistani[20] do not consider the abortion of a defective fetus permissible even before the ensoulment.

Danger to Mother's Life

If continuing the pregnancy threatens the mother's life, there is a difference of opinion among Shi'a jurists regarding the permissibility of abortion.[21] Most jurists consider abortion permissible before ensoulment;[22] in this view, preserving the mother's life takes precedence over preserving a fetus that is not yet considered to have complete human life.[23] However, some jurists, including the Tabataba'i Yazdi (the author of al-'Urwa),[24] Sayyid 'Abd al-A'la Sabziwari,[25] and Lutf Allah Safi Gulpaygani,[26] do not consider abortion permissible after the ensoulment and do not give preference to preserving the mother's life over the fetus in this situation.[27] According to Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khoei, if the survival of the fetus causes the mother's death and doctors have prescribed abortion, a conflict arises between the obligation to preserve the mother's life and the obligation to preserve the fetus, and in the absence of preference, the mother has the choice between preserving the fetus and saving her own life through abortion.[28] If abortion is performed, the payment of the fetus's blood money will be the responsibility of the person performing the abortion.[29]

Illegitimate Fetus

Regarding the abortion of a fetus conceived illegitimately, there are different views. Based on the fatwa of Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khoei, if before the ensoulment, the survival of the fetus causes hardship and embarrassment for the mother, and it is not possible to move to a distant place for delivery, abortion is permissible;[30] but after the ensoulment, abortion is not permissible, and the pregnant woman can move to a more distant place for delivery.[31] Nasir Makarim Shirazi has permitted abortion if the mother's life is in danger from her family and the fetus has not reached four months.[32] In contrast, Sayyid 'Abd al-A'la Sabziwari does not consider the abortion of an illegitimate fetus permissible even in cases where preserving the life or reputation of the woman depends on it.[33]

Punishment for Abortion

The views of jurists regarding the punishment for abortion are as follows:

Qisas (Retaliation)

Based on the famous opinion of Shi'a jurists, intentional abortion after the ensoulment entails Qisas.[34] However, al-Khoei, citing a narration from Imam al-Baqir (a), does not consider the killer of a fetus deserving of Qisas, similar to someone who kills a minor child or an insane person,[35] and considers only blood money (diya) obligatory upon him.[36]

A group of contemporary jurists such as Sayyid Muhammad Rida Gulpaygani,[37] Muhammad Fadil Lankarani,[38] Husayn Ali Muntaziri,[39] Husayn Wahid Khurasani,[40] and Nasir Makarim Shirazi[41] also do not consider the killer of a fetus into which the spirit has been blown deserving of Qisas and only consider blood money obligatory upon him.

Diya (Blood Money)

Based on the opinion of jurists, the blood money for the fetus is the responsibility of the person by whose hand or action the abortion was performed.[42] Its amount varies according to the stages of fetal development.[43] Most jurists have considered the blood money for a complete fetus to be 1000 dinars for a boy and 500 dinars for a girl.[44] Imam Khomeini did not differentiate between a boy and a girl in this case.[45]

Kaffara (Expiation)

If the abortion is before the ensoulment, Kaffara is not required;[46] but if it is performed after the ensoulment, the Kaffara of killing (kaffarat al-qatl) becomes obligatory, which includes freeing a slave, fasting for two months, and feeding sixty poor people.[47]

Abortion from an Ethical Perspective

Abortion is one of the important issues in medical ethics.[48] Some philosophers believe that the fetus, after reaching a stage where it can feel pain and pleasure (usually the first trimester), is like a complete human being and its abortion is not permissible after this period.[49] Others believe that only "moral persons" have rights such as the right to life,[50] and since the fetus lacks characteristics such as consciousness, rationality, and self-awareness, it is not covered by these rights.[51] In contrast, another view considers the fetus a complete human being and a member of the human community from the moment of conception, whose killing is morally wrong.[52]

Notes

  1. ↑ Mūʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq-i madhhab-i Ahl al-Bayt (a), vol. 4, p. 487.
  2. ↑ Qādī-pāshā & Amīniyān, "Barrasī-yi mujawwizhā-yi saqṭ-i janīn... ", p. 148.
  3. ↑ ʿAllāma Ḥillī, Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 1, p. 326.
  4. ↑ Shukūr et al., "Abʿād-i akhlāqī-yi saqṭ-i janīn dar āmūzish-i pizishkī", p. 25.
  5. ↑ Qānūn-i mujāzāt-i Islāmī, approved in 1392 Sh, Article 718.
  6. ↑ Mūʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, al-Mawsūʿat al-fiqhiyya, vol. 5, p. 395; Mūʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq-i madhhab-i Ahl al-Bayt (a), vol. 4, p. 487.
  7. ↑ Sīstānī, Minhāj al-ṣāliḥīn, vol. 3, p. 115.
  8. ↑ Mūʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, al-Mawsūʿat al-fiqhiyya, vol. 5, p. 394.
  9. ↑ Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 25, p. 251; Khūʾī, al-Masāʾil al-sharʿiyya, vol. 2, p. 310; Tabrīzī, Ṣirāṭ al-najāh, vol. 1, p. 332.
  10. ↑ Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 25, p. 251.
  11. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 42, p. 8; Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 29, p. 112.
  12. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruhu al-faqīh, vol. 4, p. 171; Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 25, p. 253.
  13. ↑ Khūʾī, Aḥkām-i jāmiʿ-i masāʾil-i pizishkī, vol. 1, p. 234.
  14. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Buḥūth fiqhiyya hāmma, vol. 1, pp. 293-294.
  15. ↑ Fayyāḍ, Minhāj al-ṣāliḥīn, Maktab Samāḥat Āyatullāh al-Ḥājj al-Shaykh Muḥammad Isḥāq al-Fayyāḍ, vol. 3, p. 440.
  16. ↑ Khāmeniʾī, Ajwibat al-istiftāʾāt, vol. 2, p. 66.
  17. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Buḥūth fiqhiyya hāmma, vol. 1, pp. 295-296.
  18. ↑ Khomeinī, Istiftāʾāt, vol. 3, p. 291.
  19. ↑ Khūʾī, al-Masāʾil al-sharʿiyya, Mūʾassisat al-Khūʾī al-Islāmiyya, vol. 2, p. 310.
  20. ↑ Ḥakīm, al-Fatāwā al-muyassara, vol. 1, p. 432.
  21. ↑ Mūʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, al-Mawsūʿat al-fiqhiyya, vol. 4, p. 488.
  22. ↑ Khomeinī, Istiftāʾāt, vol. 3, p. 291; Gulpāygānī, Irshād al-sāʾil, p. 173; Muntaẓirī, Aḥkām-i pizishkī, p. 103; Khāmeneʾī, Ajwibat al-istiftāʾāt, vol. 2, p. 66.
  23. ↑ Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 25, p. 253; Mūʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, al-Mawsūʿat al-fiqhiyya, vol. 5, p. 399.
  24. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 2, p. 118.
  25. ↑ Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 25, p. 254.
  26. ↑ Ṣāfī Gulpāygānī, Istiftāʾāt-i pizishkī, pp. 65-66.
  27. ↑ Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 25, p. 254.
  28. ↑ Gharawī Tabrīzī, al-Tanqīḥ fī sharḥ al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 9, p. 317; Khūʾī, Mabānī takmilat al-minhāj, vol. 2, p. 13.
  29. ↑ Khūʾī, Aḥkām-i jāmiʿ-i masāʾil-i pizishkī, vol. 1, p. 230.
  30. ↑ Khūʾī, Aḥkām-i jāmiʿ-i masāʾil-i pizishkī, vol. 1, p. 232.
  31. ↑ Khūʾī, Aḥkām-i jāmiʿ-i masāʾil-i pizishkī, vol. 1, p. 231.
  32. ↑ "Ḥukm-i saqṭ-i janīn-i nā-mashrūʿ bi khāṭir-i khawf az kushta shudan", official website.
  33. ↑ Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 25, p. 253.
  34. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 43, p. 381; Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 29, p. 112.
  35. ↑ Khūʾī, Mabānī takmilat al-minhāj, vol. 2, p. 72.
  36. ↑ Khūʾī, Mabānī takmilat al-minhāj, vol. 2, p. 417.
  37. ↑ Gulpāygānī, Majmaʿ al-masāʾil, vol. 3, p. 291.
  38. ↑ Fāḍil Lankarānī, Jāmiʿ al-masāʾil, vol. 1, p. 541.
  39. ↑ Muntaẓirī, al-Aḥkām al-sharʿiyya, p. 562.
  40. ↑ Waḥīd Khurāsānī, Minhāj al-ṣāliḥīn, vol. 3, p. 589.
  41. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Buḥūth fiqhiyya hāmma, pp. 290-292.
  42. ↑ For example, see: Khūʾī, Masāʾil-i pizishkī, vol. 1, p. 230; Khomeinī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 598; Makārim Shīrāzī, Buḥūth fiqhiyya hāmma, vol. 1, p. 299.
  43. ↑ Mūʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq-i madhhab-i Ahl al-Bayt (a), vol. 4, p. 489.
  44. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 43, p. 356; Waḥīd Khurāsānī, Minhāj al-ṣāliḥīn, vol. 3, p. 587.
  45. ↑ Khomeinī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 597.
  46. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 43, p. 364; Sabziwārī, Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām, vol. 29, p. 316.
  47. ↑ Sīstānī, "Kaffāra-yi jamʿ", Official Website.
  48. ↑ Shukūr et al., "Abʿād-i akhlāqī-yi saqṭ-i janīn dar āmūzish-i pizishkī", p. 29.
  49. ↑ Islāmī, "Rahyāfthā-yi akhlāqī bi saqṭ-i janīn; yak barrasī-yi mawridī", p. 325.
  50. ↑ Jamshīdī et al., "Barrasī wa naqd-i dīdgāh-i Peter Singer darbāra-yi akhlāqī būdan-i saqṭ-i janīn", p. 236.
  51. ↑ Atrak, "Dalāyil-i falsafī-yi muwāfiqān wa mukhālifān-i saqṭ-i janīn (saqṭ-i janīn dar falsafa-yi akhlāq)", p. 56.
  52. ↑ Palmer, Masāʾil-i akhlāqī, p. 94; Muwaḥḥidī & Gulzār, "Barrasī-yi saqṭ-i janīn az dū dīdgāh-i waẓīfa-garāyāna wa ghāyat-garāyāna", p. 18.

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