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Fatwa CenterDoctors recommend an abortion
Question
Please, it is so important reply rapidlyI am a Muslim man living in a European country. My wife is pregnant, in 20 weeks, yesterday we went to the Dr. and she said to us after the diagnostic by the ultrasound that our embryo has a holoprosencephal disease, see information, (http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim? 236100Text). It is a disease of the embryo which has a problem in the devolvement of the brain; the head will not have a cerebrum. May be he will be born but will die days after birth . The Dr. said that it is dangerous for the mother to complete this pregnancy, so she recommended to abort the embryo. Here with the law it is an obligation to make that in a situation like that.So my question is:1) In this situation the embryo has no chance to live without brain, so can we abort it?2) If yes, what we can do with the embryo, that we live in a city have not any Islamic centre. Take him or her to the hospital or what?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
We have issued a Fatwa on this issue No. 81263. we clarified that aborting a distorted fetus is forbidden as it is going against the principles of predestination and of trials that Allah inflicts on His slaves. Also this act is actually killing an innocent soul without any legal reason. However, it is permissible in the case when continued pregnancy threatens the life of the mother and a reliable doctor confirms this threat. In this case, abortion is permissible since the life of the mother is an existing fact while the life of the fetus is not certain therefore, what is certain is preferred to what is uncertain. So the life of the mother is more worth preserving than that of the fetus.
Know that following rules that are contrary to Sharia is not allowed. Allah Says {Or have they partners with Allâh (false gods), who have instituted for them a religion which Allâh has not allowed. ...} [42: 21]. Allah also Says: {"And follow not the command of Al-Musrifûn [i.e. their chiefs, leaders who were polytheists, criminals and sinners], "Who make mischief in the land, and reform not."} [16: 151-152].
Following other than Allah in disobeying Allah is a kind of worship and Allah Alone Deserves to be worshipped. Allah Says: {Surely, His is the Creation and Commandment. Blessed be Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists)!} [7: 54].
If the fetus has already taken the shape of a human being then it should be washed, shrouded and should be buried like any Muslim. Surrendering it to non-Muslims is not allowed since we do not trust them in this regard.
Dear Brother,
From the information you have provided we conclude that your family is facing a critical time. We pray that Allah will bless and sustain you, grant you patience and steadfastness to trust Him and accept His decree in this matter.
Allah knows best.
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