ABORTION

ABORTION

In medicine,an abortion is the premature exit of the products of conception (the fetus, fetal membranes, and placenta) from the uterus. It is the loss of a pregnancy and does not refer to why that pregnancy was lost.[1]But it is crucial to take a look on the reason why abortion becomes so rampant in our society. Well, the western media portrays sexual intercourse as a right of passage for teenagers and do not say it does not. Any person in modern society, especially in the United States, can tell you that as soon as the TV is switched on, you are almost bound to find explicit scenes of a sexual nature. As more and more teens are inclined by peers and media to have sex, the tendency to have sex also inclines. Commercials for condoms and other contraceptives are all over the places. But, what if the condom rips or does not work? Someone’s girlfriend’s got pregnant. What does she do? Nowadays, it seems like the typical decision would be to have an abortion; either partial birth or full term. Modern society has condoned this act to be normal. What they doesn’t seems to realize is that they are unreasonably killing an innocent human being. 

A woman from Quebec, called Chantal Daigle asked the court there to allow her has abortion of her 21 week pregnancy. The court prevented her from doing so. The woman insisted and defied the court's judgment. She did have abortion. Not only had this but she resorted to the Supreme Court to change that decision. The Supreme Court gave its approval and repealed the prevention decision. In the light of the above, it may be asked here: What is the attitude of Islam towards the issue of abortion? Is it true that women have full control over their bodies and they can have abortion anytime they wish? Or does Islam agree with those who say "No, the fetus is a human being and has full human rights"? It has the right to live and to be protected. So it is a crime to have abortion? How does Islam look at this issue? Basically, Islam considers life as a sacred gift from Allah. Nobody is allowed to stop the life of anyone else except by way of justice or according to Islamic law. 

Thus the Holy Quran says:“Say:Come, I will rehearse what God has really prohibited you from: Join nothing as equal with Him; be good to your parents, kill not your children on a plea of poverty; We provide sustenance for you and for them; approach not shameful deeds, whether open or secret, take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law” (6:151). Islam allows women to prevent pregnancy but forbids them to terminate it. The Shari’ah allows abortion only when doctors declare with reasonable certainty that the continuation of pregnancy will endanger the woman’s life. This permission is based on the principle of the lesser of the two evils known in Islamic legal terminology as the principle of al-ahamm wa’l muhimm (the more important and the less important). 

The Prophet said, “When two forbidden things come (upon a person) together, then the lesser would be scarified for the greater”. In the present case, one is faced with two forbidden things; either abort the unborn child or let a living woman die. Therefore, abortion is allowed to save life of the person.[2] The abortion of a fetus from the mother’s womb is a different issue, since the sperm and egg have already fertilized and could become a human being. The scholars all agree that abortion is forbidden after four months of pregnancy?, since by that time the soul has entered the embryo but it would allow the use of RU486, as long as it could be reasonably assumed that the fertilized egg has not become implanted on the wall of the uterus. Most scholars say that abortion is legal under Islamic Shari’ah when done for valid reason and when completed before the soul enters the embryo. Abortion under vain reason such as to keep a woman’s youthful figure are not valid. Looking on the issue through Islamic perspective, it is vital to look upon the views of Four Madhabs (School of Thought).Most of the schools that permit abortion insist that there must be a serious reason for it such as a threat to the mother’s life or the probability of giving birth to a defective child. 

The majority of the orthodox Muslims (following the Hanafi school) in later centuries, allowed abortion until the end of four months. The pregnant woman can have abortion without her husband’s permission but she must have reasonable grounds for this act. Most of the Maliki jurist (legal scholars) described abortion as completely forbidden. According to them,when the semen settles in the womb,it is expected to develop into a living baby and it should not be disturbed by anyone. According to Ibn Jawziyyah,when the womb has retained the semen, it is not permitted for the husband and wife, or one of them or the master of the slave-wife, to induce an abortion. After emolument, however, abortion is prohibited absolutely and is akin to murder. The Hanafi school allows abortions to take place principally until day 120; some jurists restrict this provision to “good cause”, as example, if the mother is still nursing an infant and fears that her milk may run out during the new pregnancy. In aborting up to day 120, the woman commits a mere moral transgression, not a crime. The Shafii school allows abortion to be performed up to day 120. For the Maliki school,an abortion is permissible with the consent of both parents up to day 40; it is no longer allowed after that. For the Hanbali School, abortion are principally prohibited from day 40 onward.[3] 

But what if the girl is raped you ask? In case of rape, the woman should use the morning after pill or RU486 immediately after the sexual assault in order to prevent the possible implantation of a fertilized ovum. Islam encourages procreation when necessary. But it leaves the door open for birth control. Thus we are told by some companions of the Prophet (PBUH), that they used a method of birth control during the time of revelation. The Prophet knew about it and yet he never asked them to stop using it. We have to confirm that it is basic in Islam to believe that having children is not decided by parents but is parcel of God’s will and sole action. All the people can do is trying their human means leaving the decision to Allah.[4] 

Abortion, if not accordance to Shari’ah, is just another name for murder. Why do not see it as such? Because no gun or knife is used. In partial birth abortion, the woman is forced into labour and once the baby is out, it is stabbed in the back of the head with scissors. Its brains are then sucked out from the back of its head. And the baby does feel pain. People should comprehend this seriously. Have you heard of the Juhani woman who committed fornication and then she remembered to Allah and turn to Him in repentance, and she came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), wanting him to stone and purify her? She came pregnant as result of fornication. The Prophet called her guardian and said, “Treat her kindly, and then when she gives birth, come to me”. Then after the woman gave birth to the baby, the Prophet ordered that she be stoned. Obviously Prophet Muhammad himself does not instruct the woman to abort the baby just because it is the result of fornication. 

Now there is disputes, whether abortion can possibly ends baby dumping. In most cases, the babies who are dumped already died when they are found. Some people regard ‘abortion is just twice the sin of baby dumping’. So if a woman is at the crossroad, which option should she chooses-to abort or to dump? The answer is none of these two. If accordance to Shari’ah she can abort the baby, but what if she wants to do it just because she was raped and keeping that baby just bearing her hatred? Of course to abort the baby is a sin. How about dumping? According to the ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, The Cabinet has decided to classify baby dumping that leads to the death of babies as a crime that warrants the death sentence. This was nailing those responsible for the deaths of the babies.[5]So what option she does have. She can choose any shelters that can protect her. One of them is Kewaja Rehabilitation Centre, which is a haven for many desperate young girls who are pregnant. This rehab centre can help them recover psychologically and physically while equipping them with skills that could get them a job after delivering a child. There’s also school of hope that offer normal classes as well as counseling and skill training to the girls. They can remain in the school until after their delivery and confinement period, when they have to return to their normal school.

In a nutshell, abortion might be a solution to certain situation if it in accordance to Islamic law. But it’s not the way to curb an epidemic of baby dumping. An abortion is also just another word for murder if it has no reason permitted by Shari’ah. A woman walks into an abortion clinic one day and has a partial birth abortion. She walks out a few hours later,child-ridden,drugged up on pain killers, and maybe a little tired. The baby was killed and disposed of. At the same instant, someone stabbed an old person to death for no particular reason. What is the difference between the two? Besides the age of the victims, essentially, there is none. Two innocent human being were killed. Subsequently, people must observe the situation first before taking this action. 

REFERENCES

[1] MedicineNet.com, accessed on 22nd April 2011

[2] Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi,Marriage and Morals in Islam. Chapter 4; Contraceptives and Abortion,(Ontario, Canada,Islamic Education and Information Center, Scarborough, 1995)Page 25

[3]Christine Schirrmacher(Institute for Islamic Studies),Abortion in Islam.Online at www.islaminstitut.de,accessed on 22nd April 2011

[4]Dr.Arafat El Ashi,ourIslamOnline.net,accessed on 21nd April 2011

[5] The Star Online, accessed on 21nd April 2011