[Q 530] Termination Due to Fetal Abnormalities

QUESTION:

A close family member is 5 months pregnant. Doctors have confirmed that the baby has no brain and no heart development. They have said the baby has no chance of survival. The doctors are advising either:

1. To take medicine and induce delivery now.
2. To keep the pregnancy until natural delivery, though in both cases the baby will not survive.

We would like guidance:
In such a situation, what is the Shariah ruling?

Is it permissible to go ahead with medical induction/termination now, considering the baby has no chance of survival and to protect the health of the mother?

ANSWER:

In the asked situation, aborting the pregnancy is impermissible and sinful.

The principle of Shari’ah regarding terminating pregnancy is that without a valid Shar’i reason, it is impermissible and sinful. After the soul (rooh) has been blown into the fetus (which happens after four months, i.e., 120 days), abortion is impermissible and haram, because at that stage the fetus is a living human being. If it is terminated, it will be regarded as killing the child.

If it is before the blowing of the soul (i.e., before four months), then in case of a genuine, reliable necessity, termination can be allowed. But in the case described, such necessity does not exist because keeping the pregnancy does not endanger the mother’s life, and complications are only a possibility. Furthermore, keeping the pregnancy still provides a chance for the baby’s survival. Therefore, the pregnancy must be kept.

Aborting a pregnancy without Shar’i excuse is sinful. In this regard, it is written in Fatawa Shami and Fatawa Qadhi Khan (the wording from the latter is cited):

“واذا اسقطت الولد بالعلاج،،،ان لم یستبن شئ من خلقہ،،، فلا اقلّ من ان يلحقها اثم ھهنا اذا اسقطت بغير عذر ، الّا لا تأثم اثم القتل”

Translation: If a woman terminates a pregnancy through medicine, even if the limbs of the child have not yet formed (i.e., before the soul is blown), then at the very least, if it was done without necessity, the woman will be sinful, though she will not be guilty of murder.

(Fatawa Qadhi Khan, vol. 3, p. 312, Karachi print)

In Fatawa Bahr al-Uloom, Bahar-e-Shari’at and Fatawa Razawiyyah Sharif it is stated:
“It is haram for an ignorant person to pose as a physician. After the soul has been blown, abortion is haram, and the one who does so is considered a murderer. Before the soul has been blown, if there is a need, then there is no harm.”

(Fatawa Razawiyyah Sharif, vol. 24, p. 207, Raza Foundation, Lahore)

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 29th August 2025