Abstract
A Muslim woman in her sixteenth week of pregnancy was informed that her ultrasound scan showed spina bifida, and laboratory results confirmed the diagnosis. The child would have various complications and, most probably, would need medical care for life. With the consent of her husband she decided to terminate the pregnancy. Her decision sparked controversy among Muslim clerics in her community, sparking debate between those who would allow abortion for medical reasons and those who oppose abortion for any reason. This paper will review the philosophical and theological arguments of the pro-life and pro-choice groups as well as the Islamic perspective concerning a woman's autonomy over her reproductive system, the sanctity of the fetus and the embryo, therapeutic abortion, and ensoulment.
Highlights
A Muslim woman in her sixteenth week of pregnancy was informed that her ultrasound scan showed spina bifida, and laboratory results confirmed the diagnosis
This paper explores how the advent of parental screening and genetic testing have shifted the focus of the abortion debate from a woman’s reproductive freedom and her autonomous right to choose, to the concept of human dignity, personhood, and the fetus’s right to life
Don Marquis and Philippa Foot are amongst the philosophers who argue that abortion, except in rare cases, is seriously immoral.[2,3]. They consider the fetus as a potential moral person who has the right to life like anyone else, and is entitled to protection against homicide
Summary
Some of the philosophers on the abortion debate propose the following syllogism. First premise: It is wrong to take the life of an innocent human being intentionally. Don Marquis and Philippa Foot are amongst the philosophers who argue that abortion, except in rare cases, is seriously immoral.[2,3] First, they consider the fetus as a potential moral person who has the right to life like anyone else, and is entitled to protection against homicide. This is an expression of her autonomy, and she is at liberty either to bear the pregnancy to term if she chooses, or to have it aborted These arguments have been supported by Judith Thomson who argues that a fetus is not yet a person and, even if the fetus were to be considered a person, it does not necessarily deprive a woman of her right to abortion.[4] She presented a number of thought experiments to argue her case. Olson holds that the continuous existence of a human biological organism from the blastocyst stage is necessary and sufficient for personhood.[13]
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