Women's Reproductive Health In Islam

One of the most controversial topics amongst religions is the issue of women’s reproductive health. This includes religions’ stances on abortion and contraception. Most religions have strict rules about what is permitted and what is not according to their sacred texts. For example, Roman Catholicism has always considered any deviation from the natural procreation a sin. Additionally, some books and letters from Bible condemn abortion and the use of contraception. However, in other religions’ sacred texts, a clear explanation of what is allowed (according to God) is lacking regarding women’s reproductive health. This is similar to what occurs in Islam. The main sacred text of Islam, the Qu’ran, unfortunately, does not offer much textual evidence …show more content…
“Muslim jurists deduce the sanctity of human life and they hold abortion to be blameworthy” (“Abortion.” The Oxford Dictionary of Islam). One of the many complexities is that there is a difference of opinion amongst Muslims as to when the fetus is technically alive. Officially Muslim jurists say that the fetus is alive at conception. In Islam, the gravity of the punishment for abortion is directly linked to the status of the fetus when the abortion occurs (“Abortion.” The Oxford Dictionary of Islam). The severity of the punishment depends on whether or not the fetus was alive which includes if it had a soul at the time of the abortion But, abortion at any stage is still a punishable offense (“Abortion.” The Oxford Dictionary of Islam). “The penalty is monetary compensation based on the age of the fetus, but full compensation only applies if the pregnancy has reached full term (nine months)” (“Abortion.”The Oxford Dictionary of Islam). In the Hadith, it is stated that that the “ensoulment” of the fetus occurs about one hundred and twenty days after the conception. But the development of the organs in the fetus occurs about forty days after conception. As in most religions, there is a split of opinion between the followers. Some Sunni believe that a “human fetus does not exist until …show more content…
An abortion under special circumstances is referred to as a therapeutic abortion. Islam does not accept unwanted or unplanned pregnancies as a reason for an abortion. What instances Islam does permit for a therapeutic abortion include, but are not limited to; if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life, or if the mother is nursing a previous child and the new pregnancy will lessen her milk supply threatening the survival of her previous child. One requirement for therapeutic abortion is that it should occur before ensoulment (which is about four months after conception). Which is contrary to Roman Catholics believe, that there is not any circumstance in which an abortion is permitted even if it endangers the mother’s