Medical Issues: What Is the Islamic Ruling on Abortion — and Does It Change If the Mother’s Life Is at Risk?
Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei
Medical Issues: What Is the Islamic Ruling on Abortion — and Does It Change If the Mother’s Life Is at Risk?
English:
Question #1259:
What is the ruling in the matter of abortion itself? Is the ruling different if keeping the baby poses a danger to the mother’s life?
Answer #1259:
Aborting the fetus is harām by Islamic law. It is not permissible at any count, barring pregnancy which poses danger to the mother’s life. In this case, there is no objection to terminating the pregnancy before the soul has entered the fetus. Should the spirit enter the fetus, it is not permissible to abort it, even if the pregnancy spells danger to the mother’s life, except in the event where carrying on with the pregnancy could prove fatal to both the fetus and the mother, and there is no way to save the baby’s life but it is possible to save the mother’s life through abortion.