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Can I Abort at 30 Days?

18 February, 2024
Q As-salamu `alaykum. My situation is rather very urgent given the time sensitivity of this matter. I'm married with two children. The oldest is less than 2 years, just weaned. The second is 11 months and still breastfeeding, and my milk is his main food. Both deliveries were with C-sections and the doctors had to use an epidural (back shot to control pain). This caused, and is still causing, plenty of back pain, making taking care of my two children, my husband, and my home a very hard task. I just recently found out that I'm pregnant again (30 days pregnancy) and the doctor (an American female doctor) told me this pregnancy will most likely lead to another C-section plus more severe back pain, which I have already started experiencing. Moreover, the younger child will also have to be weaned earlier. Because we're away from our families, living in the US, and I fear this will worsen my health, and because doctors cannot do anything for my back (X-ray, therapy, etc.) while I am pregnant, I wonder if these reasons are enough to have an abortion. Please let me know, given the above circumstances and the fact that I'm only 30 days pregnant, if I can have this abortion. I should also say that there are no Muslim doctors that I can consult and that my American doctor knows about our religious restrictions on abortion. My fear is to suffer for the next eight months, which I cannot take anymore given the pregnancies in close succession.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


In this fatwa:

You may be allowed to abort if, based on your health condition and specific circumstances—as determined by your family doctor—it becomes unbearable for you. 


Responding to the question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

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Generally speaking, abortion is considered sinful in Islam according to the authentic view of scholars. It is allowed only in exceptional cases, especially after the ensoulment, which takes place on the 120th day of conception (i.e., at twelve weeks).

Abortion after this is akin to murder, so it should never be a valid option unless there is real danger to the life of the mother.

Abortion in early stages, however, is considered less sinful. Your case should be judged based on the intensity of suffering and hardship you may have to go through if you were to go through the course of conception. You may be allowed to abort if, based on your health condition and specific circumstances—as determined by your family doctor—it becomes unbearable for you.

Only in case of extreme hardship may you be allowed to resort to this procedure. Should you decide this, you must do so without waiting any further, for delaying it further would only intensify the enormity of sin. So make a decision in consultation with your husband and the family doctor, and act accordingly. May Allah guide us all to the right decisions.

In the future, you must resort to reliable and safe methods of family planning, which is allowed in Islam, especially in cases like yours, so that you don’t have to go for such drastic and extreme measures.

For more, see these fatwas:

Abortion in Case of Rape: Allowed?

Marital Rape: How Seen From an Islamic Perspective?

Can a Rape Victim Abort Her Fetus?

Can My Wife Undergo Abortion during Pregnancy?

Can a Woman Commit Suicide If She Is About to be Raped?

A Man Raped His Daughter-in-Law: Any Punishment?

Almighty Allah knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.

About Sheikh Ahmad Kutty
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty is a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada