The doctors aborted the foetus without her knowledge, out of fear for her life
Question Five years ago my mother got pregnant and in the fifth month of pregnancy the amniotic fluid leaked and she became ill. When she went to the doctor they decided to abort the foetus because it was weak, and he said that if it was left inside it would die and decompose which would…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
If the matter is as described, there is no sin on your mother
– if we assume that there is any sin involved – because she did not consent
and the operation was done without her knowledge.
Secondly:
If trustworthy doctors determined that leaving the foetus
inside poses a danger to the mother’s life, it is permissible to abort it,
even if that is after the soul has been breathed into it.
It says in Ahkaam al-Janeen fi’l-Fiqh al-Islamiyyah by
‘Umar ibn Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem ‘Aamir:
The fuqaha’ of the Sunni madhhabs are unanimously agreed that
it is haraam to kill the foetus after the soul has been breathed into it –
i.e., after 120 days since conception – and it is not permissible to kill it
under any circumstances, unless continuation of the pregnancy will lead to
the mother’s death.
Thus it is clear to you that abortion after the soul has been
breathed into the foetus is a crime and it is not permissible to do that
except in cases of extreme and definite necessity, not assumed or imagined
necessity, if it is proven that there is such a necessity, i.e., if leaving
the foetus will pose a danger to the mother’s life. However it should be
noted that with the advances in modern medicine and the means available
nowadays, abortion to save the mother’s life has become something very rare
indeed. End quote.
The Islamic Fiqh Council stated that if the pregnancy has
reached 120 days, it is not permissible to abort it, even if medical
examinations show that the foetus is deformed, unless it is proven by a
council of trustworthy, specialist doctors that continuation of the
pregnancy will pose a danger to the life of the mother. In that case it is
permissible to abort it, whether it is deformed or not, so as to ward off
the greater of the two harms. End quote.
The Council of Senior Scholars in the Land of the Two Holy
Sanctuaries issued a statement in which it says:
After the end of four months it is not permissible to abort
the foetus unless a number of trustworthy specialist doctors decide that
leaving the foetus in his mother’s womb will cause her death. That is after
exhausting all means of trying to preserve his life. The concession allowing
abortion in this case is only allowed in order to ward off the greater of
the two harms and serve the greater of the two interests. End quote from
al-Fataawa al-Jaami’ah (3/1055).
See also the answer to question no.
42321.
And Allaah knows best.