An Analysis of the Opinions of Shia Jurisprudential Authorities Regarding Abortion

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the opinions of Shia jurisprudential authorities regarding the issue of abortion and its permissibility or prohibition during different stages of pregnancy. In turn, it was anticipated that this would reveal an array of various probable practical options for followers of these jurisprudential authorities to emulate given the situation in question. The research conducted in two stages in which the results derived from completing stage one constituted raw data to be processed in stage two. In this process, data was collected in stage one through direct and open-ended questions that were presented to the offices of Shia jurisprudential authorities in written format and in two separate phases. Subsequently, in stage two, the answers collected in stage one were furnished for analysis to a group of experts constituted of top university and seminary scholars. The group was presented by the researcher with questions that were answered in a collective interview setting. The end product of this entire process is that various practical solutions regarding abortion, in cases where the lives of the mother and the child depend on the performance of this said medical procedure, are made available for the followers of Shia jurisprudential authorities and doctors alike. It was discovered that abortion was unanimously considered permissible before the stage of “ensoulment”in all situations where the mother faced mortal or considerable risk. However, after the stage of “ensoulment”, its permissibility or prohibition depended on a series of conditions and considerations.