This document provides information on the legal, ethical, and moral perspectives on abortion. Legally, abortion laws vary by state and country, with some banning it altogether while others allow it freely. Ethically, those who are pro-life argue that abortion is wrong because it kills an innocent human life, while pro-choice advocates state that a fetus is not necessarily a person and a woman has moral rights over her own body. Morally, there are differing views on when life begins, a woman's right to choose vs the right to life, whether abortion constitutes murder, and if seeking abortion is morally acceptable. The document explores arguments from both sides of this complex issue.

1. Abortion
Presented by:
Ida Yuszrin Hani Bt Eshak
Nur Dalilah Bt Azhar
Khairun Neesha Bt Raj Mohamed
Ezzah Ruzaini Bt Mohammad Radzi
Yasmin Adilah Bt Awang
Prepared For:
Madam Rozita Othman

2. ABORTION
(Legal view)

3. • St at es ar ound t he wor ld began liber alizing abor t ion laws
in t he 1960s, r ef lect ing changed societ al mor es and,
per haps, t he number of illegal abor t ions. Then in 1965,
t he Supr eme Cour t int r oduced t he idea of a "r ight t o
pr ivacy" in Gr iswold v. Connect icut as it st r uck down laws
t hat banned t he sale of condoms t o mar r ied people.
• Abor t ion was legalized in 1973 when t he U.S.Supr eme
Cour t r uled in Roe v. W ade t hat dur ing t he f ir st
t r imest er , a woman has t he r ight t o decide what happens
t o her body. This landmar k decision r est ed on t he "r ight
t o pr ivacy" which was int r oduced in 1965. I n addit ion, t he
Cour t r uled t hat t he st at e could int er vene in t he second
t r imest er and could ban abor t ions in t he t hir d t r imest er .
However , a cent r al issue, which t he Cour t declined t o
addr ess, is whet her human lif e begins at concept ion, at
bir t h, or at some point in bet ween.

4. In
1992,
in
Planned
Par ent hood v. Casey, t he
Cour t over t ur ned Roe' s
t r imest er appr oach and
int r oduced t he concept of
viabilit y.
Today,
appr oximat ely 90% of all
abor t ions occur in t he
f ir st 12 weeks.
• I n t he 1980s and 1990s,
ant i-abor t ion act ivism -spur r ed on by opposit ion
f r om Roman Cat holics and
conser vat ive
Chr ist ian
gr oups -- t ur ned f r om
legal challenges t o t he

6. The wor ld' s populat ion divides somewhat
evenly int o f ive cat egor ies of count r ies:
• wher e abor t ion is allowed only t o save
t he
mot her ' s
lif e
(or
banned
complet ely),
• wher e abor t ion is per mit t ed only in
some "har d" cases,
• wher e abor t ion is allowed f or br oad
economic or social r easons,
• wher e abor t ion is available on demand,

7. • Those ident if ied as banning all abor t ions
ar e Chile, El Salvador , Malt a, Nicar agua,
Timor -Lest e, and Vat ican Cit y, and since
2007 t he Dominican Republic has also
enact ed such a ban. This count compar es
t o 4 count r ies in 2001, 4 in 1999, and 16
in 1994 (alt hough 10 of t hose 16 made
except ions in var ious cir cumst ances).
• Regar ding ot her "har d cases", of f icially,
128 of t hese count r ies per mit abor t ion
t o pr eser ve t he mot her ' s physical healt h,
123 t o pr eser ve her ment al healt h, 93 in
cases of r ape or incest , and 88 in cases

8. • Abor t ion on demand is per mit t ed in 57 count r ies,
alt hough many of
t hese count r ies place
r est r ict ions such as when dur ing t he pr egnancy
an abor t ion may be obt ained. This f igur e is up
f r om 53 count r ies in 2002 and 42 in 1994. These
56 count r ies include:
– in t he west er n hemispher e: t he Unit ed St at es,
Canada, Cuba, and Guyana;
– in west er n and sout her n Eur ope: Aust r ia,
Belgium, Denmar k, Fr ance, Ger many, Gr eece,
I t aly, Net her lands, Nor way, Por t ugal, Sweden,
and Swit zer land;
– in east er n Eur ope: Albania, Bosnia and
Her zegovina, Bulgar ia, Cr oat ia, Czech Republic,
Hungar y, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mont enegr o,
Romania, Ser bia, Slovakia, and Slovenia;
– Kazakhst an, Kyr gyzst an, Lat via, Lit huania,
Moldova, Russia, Taj ikist an, Tur kmenist an,

9. • Thr ee count r ies ar e r epor t ed as
enf or cing mandat or y abor t ions in some
cir cumst ances.
– The People' s Republic of China has
been r ecognized as f or cing mandat or y
abor t ions t o enf or ce it s "one child"
policy. While t he PRC gover nment
claims t o have r ecent ly r ef or med t he
policy t o eliminat e such occur ences,
r epor t s per sist of f or ced abor t ions
by local aut hor it ies. Ear ly in 2003 t he
PRC placed of f icial r est r ict ions on
abor t ions f or sex select ion.

10. • The gr eat est
r egional
consist ency
in
r est r ict ing abor t ion is in Cent r al and Sout h
Amer ica.
• Sever al of t hese count r ies make except ions
t o save t he lif e of t he mot her and in t he case
of r ape and incest --but not f or t he physical
and ment al healt h of t he mot her .
• I n gener al, many bans on abor t ion ar e
r egular ly cir cumvent ed in t he cour t s and can
also be avoided by t r aveling abr oad--a
common pr act ice in Eur ope.

11. • Conclusively, as we
can see t he legal
st at us of abor t ion
dif f er s accor ding
t o st at e and is
inf luenced by t he
societ y,
r eligion
and cir cumst ances
of
a par t icular

12. ABORTION
(Ethical View)

13. Abortion is the deliberate
termination of a
pregnancy.

14. If it’s not Ethical…
.
Why?

15. illing people is wrong
•K
– killing innocent human beings is
wr ong
– human lif e begins at concept ion
– t he f oet us is an innocent human
being
– killing t he f oet us is wr ong
– t her ef or e abor t ion is always

16. • A f oetus is a person
– A f oet us has a unique genet ic
code
– A f oet us is a unique individual
• Causing pain is wrong
– it is wr ong t o cause pain and
suf f er ing
f oet us
is
suf f icient ly
–a

17. illing potential people is wrong
• K
– it is wr ong t o dest r oy pot ent ial
human lif e
– f r om concept ion onwar ds t he
f oet us is a pot ent ial human being
– t her ef or e it is wr ong t o dest r oy
t he f oet us
illing beings with ' a f uture like
• K
ours' is wrong

18. • Increasing tolerance
killing is wrong
of
– allowing abor t ion is legalising
killing
killing
r educes
– legalising
people' s r espect f or lif e
– r educing societ y' s r espect f or
lif e is a bad t hing - it may lead
t o eut hanasia, genocide and

19. Why Abortion is
Ethical? …
When?

20. f oetus
is
not
• The
necessarily
a ' person'
with the right to live
–a collect ion of human cells
does not have t he r ight t o
live j ust because it is of t he
human species
ot her wise amput at ing a

21. • a collect ion of human cells only
has t he r ight t o live by vir t ue of
cer t ain f act s
– t hese ar e eit her :
• it has r eached a par t icular
st age of development t hat
makes it a moral ' person'
• it possesses cer t ain
pr oper t ies t hat make it a

22. • It is not always wrong to end
the lif e of an innocent person
– t her e ar e many cases wher e we
have t o choose which of t wo
innocent people will live and which
will die:
• conj oined t wins, wher e t he
oper at ion t o separ at e t hem may
cause one t win t o die

23. otential
• 'P
rights
human beings'
don' t
have
– only ' actual' human beings have r ight s
• The pregnant woman has moral rights
too
– under some cir cumst ances t hese may
over r ide t he f oet us' s r ight t o live
– t hese moral rights include:
– t he r ight t o owner ship of her own body
– t he r ight t o decide her own f ut ur e
– t he r ight t o t ake decisions without moral
or legal interventionby ot her s
• t he pr egnant woman has t he r ight t o lif e -

24. • The pregnant woman has
moral rights too
some
cir cumst ances
– under
t hese
may
over r ide
t he
f oet us' s r ight t o live
– t hese moral rights include:
• t he r ight t o owner ship of her
own body
• t he r ight t o decide her own

25. • t he pr egnant woman has t he
r ight t o lif e - wher e not abor t ing
t he
f oet us
would put
the
mother' s lif e or health in
danger, she has t he mor al r ight
t o abor t t he f oet us

26. ABORTION
(Moral perspective)

27. A per son' s st andar ds
of behavior or belief s
concer ning what is and is not
accept able f or t hem t o do.
 P Lif e - Opposing abor t ion
ro
(against abor t ion)
 P Choice - Advocat es f or
ro
t he
legalizat ion of abor t ion (f or
 Moral -

28. When does
"l i f e" begin in
t he womb?

29. PRO-LIFE
1. B
iology is clear that at conception, also
known as
f ertilization,
a unique
organism comes into existence.
Since
this new lif e possesses human DNA and
is the
of f spring of human parents,
it can only legitimately be
described
as human lif e.
2. Since there is no question that human
zygotes,
embryos and f etuses are
alive, some have attempted to claim
that human beings are not “persons”
until some threshold is crossed, such

30. PRO-CHOICE
1. Ther e is no scient if ic consensus as t o
when human lif e begins. I t is a mat t er
of philosophic opinion or
r eligious
belief . Human lif e is a cont inuum--sper m and eggs ar e also alive, and
r epr esent pot ent ial human beings, but
vir t ually all sper m and eggs ar e wast ed.
Also, t wo-t hir ds of human concept ions
ar e spont aneously abor t ed by nat ur e.
2. Per sonhood at concept ion is a
r eligious belief , not
a
pr ovable
biological f act .Religious communit ies

31. A wom
an's
r i ght t o
c hoos e
vs

32. PRO-LIFE
1. Right t o lif e is pr ot ect ed under Ar t icle 5
of t he Feder al Const it ut ion. Laws set up
t o cir cumvent
abor t ions and t he
hiding of it pr oves t he societ y' s
ver dict on t he mat t er of abor t ion.
2. Women who ar e unmar r ied t hat ends
up pr egnant ar e ir r esponsible. They
should st ep up t o t he plat e and if f or
some r eason ar e unable t o keep t he baby,
give
it
up
f or
adopt ion.
3. At t he point when a gir l/ women is
pr egnant , her r ight t o choose dissipat es

33. PRO-CHOICE
1. A f et us is not a child, and women don’t always get t o
choose t o become pr egnant , t hey may not have access
t o bir t h cont r ol, t hey may not want t o have sex, t hey
may have been f or ced. I n any case, women pay t he
pr ice. They have t o car r y t he pr egnancy, endur e t he
bir t h, f eed and clean t he baby, t ake it t o it s
appoint ment s, et c.
2. They also have t o wor k, and pay f or day car e,
especially if t he “boyf r iend” is gone. Men can help out
or not , accor ding t o t heir inclinat ions and char act er ,
but nat ur e and cult ur e have conspir ed against mom t o
make her t he one r esponsible. Slaver y may be t oo
st r ong a wor d, but int ent ionally or not , pr egnancy and
childcar e ar e an indispensable par t of t he subj ugat ion
of women.

34. Is abortion equivalent
to MURDER?

35. PRO-LIFE
1. A human lif e begins when a sper m and
egg combine t o f or m a new individual. At
t hat moment , a per son comes int o
exist ence, and, because all human beings
have a r ight t o lif e, it is mur der t o
volunt ar ily end t hat per son' s lif e.
2. Volunt ar y abor t ion at t acks t he f et us
in it s mot her ‘s womb, which should be
a place of
saf et y and comf or t .
Assault ing t he f et us, by causing a
volunt ar y abor t ion, is t her ef or e at least

36. PRO-CHOICE
1. An unf er t ilized egg t hen becomes a
f er t ilized egg. The f er t ilized egg is
unawar e of it s own exist ence and does not
have a br ain. I t had no br ain and never
knew it exist ed. I t mer ely had t he
pot ent ial t o become a conscious human.
That same "pot ent ial" t o become a human
exist ed bef or e t he egg was even
f er t ilized.
2. Even at t he end of t he second
t r imest er , t he f er t ilized egg st ill has a
ner vous syst em no mor e conscious t han

37. Is it morally acceptable
to seek abortion?

38. PRO-LIFE
1. When people choose t o engage in
sexual int er cour se, t hey become
mor ally obligat ed t o t ake car e
of any r esult ing pr ogeny, even if
t hey also use bir t h cont r ol.
2.
I t is only accept able t o seek
abor t ion if
t he pr egnancy
will af f ect t he mot her ' s
healt h. I n
cases of r ape and
incest , it var ies f r om one case

39. 3. I n Malaysia, having a child out of
wedlock is consider ed immor al and t hus
it can be seen f r om t he high number of
illegal abor t ion t hat t he "shame" in
having a pr ogeny out of wedlock,
adult er y, r ape or incest is r eally deep t o
dr ive
t hese women t o commit such
at r ocious act .
4. That is why t her e ar e no legalisat ion
of abor t ion in
Malaysia because
Malaysians f eel st r ongly t hat abor t ion is
not mor ally accept able. People who

40. PRO-CHOICE
1.
Women have t he r ight t o def end
t hemselves. So if a
pr egnancy is
causing t hem har m, women have t he r ight
t o pr ot ect t hemselves f r om t hat har m by
choose t o under go an abor t ion.
2.
I f a woman knows she will not be
able t o r aise a child
t o be a
pr oduct ive member of societ y, she is
mor ally obligat ed t o obt ain an abor t ion
r at her t han subj ect it t o a lif e of

41. ABORTION
(In perspective of
islamic view)

42. INTRODUCTION
• Islam def ine abortion as an intentional
discharge of the f oetus f rom the womb
prematurely and without a justif ication.
• Muslims regard abortion as wrong and
haram (f orbidden), but many accept that
it may be permitted in certain cases.
• The quran does not explicitly ref er to
abortion but of f ers guidance on related
matters. Scholars accept that this
guidance can properly be applied to
abortion.

43. CONT …
• Many verses in Al Qur' an describe
beautif ully and scientif ically all the
dif f erent stages of development and
growth of the unborn baby, producing
great admiration f or The Creator, the
best of Designers! (Chapter 23, verses
12, 13, 14)
• Islam also has stated clearly the rights
of the f oetus; the right to lif e and
protection f rom any harm, the right to
lineage, the right to support f rom
f amily, the right to legal status and

44. QURANIC VERSE REGARDING
ABORTION
• “hence do not kill your childr en f or f ear of
want (pover t y).it is we who should pr ovide
sust enance f or t hem as well as f or you. Ver ily
killing t hem is a gr eat sin.” – (17: 31)
• “and when t he f emale inf ant bur ied alive is
quest ioned f or what cr ime she as killed.”
(81: 8)
• “and do not t ake any human being’s lif e – t he
lif e which Allah has willed t o be sacr ed –
ot her wise t han in pur suit of j ust ice (17: 70)
• “and ver ily we had honour ed t he childr en of

45. CONT …
• “I f t hey believe in God and t he Final Day, it is
not per missible f or t hem t o suppr ess what
God has cr eat ed in t heir wombs.” (2:228)
• “He cr eat es you in t he wombs of your
mot her s. I n st ages, one af t er anot her . I n
t hr ee veils of dar kness. Such is Allah, your
Lor d and Cher isher ” ( 39:6).
• “We cr eat ed t he human being f r om a
quint essence of clay. Then we placed him as
semen in a f ir m r ecept acle. Then we f or med
t he semen int o a blood-like clot . Then we

46. Views of Four Madhhabs
• The Hanaf i : allows abor t ions t o t ake
place pr incipally unt il day 120; some
j ur ist s r est r ict t his pr ovision t o “good
cause”, e.g. if t he mot her is st ill
nur sing an inf ant and f ear s t hat her
milk may r un out dur ing t he new
pr egnancy. I n abor t ing up t o day 120,
t he woman commit s a mer e mor al
t r ansgr ession, not a cr ime.
• The Shaf i : allows abor t ions t o be
per f or med up t o day 120.

47. SANCTITY OF LIFE
• The I slamic view is based on t he ver y
high pr ior it y t he f ait h gives to the
sanctity of lif e. The Qur ' an st at es:
“W
hos oev er has s par ed t he l i f e
of a s oul , i t i s as t hough he
has s par ed t he l i f e of al l
peopl e. W
hos oev er has ki l l ed a
s oul , i t i s as t hough he has
m der ed al l of m
ur
anki nd” Qur' an 5: 32

48. 1. PROTECTION OF
MOTHER’S LIFE
• Islam allows abor t ion t o save t he lif e of
t he mot her because it sees t his as t he
' lesser of two evils' and t her e is a
gener al pr inciple in shar ia (Muslim law) of
choosing t he lesser of t wo evils.
• ‘’ al -aham wa 'l -m
m
uhi m ’’
m
• The P
rophet said, "When t wo f or bidden
t hings come [ upon a per son] t oget her ,
t hen t he lesser will be sacr if iced f or t he
gr eat er ."

49. 2. PROVIDING FOR THE BABY
• The Qur ' an makes it clear t hat a f oet us
must not be abor t ed because t he f amily
f ear t hat t hey will not be able t o pr ovide
f or it - t hey should t r ust Allah t o look
af t er t hings:
• Kill not your of f spr ing f or f ear of pover t y;
it is We who pr ovide f or t hem and f or you.
Sur ely, killing t hem is a gr eat sin. - Qur' an
17: 32
• The same (and similar ) t ext s also ban
abor t ion on social or f inancial gr ounds

50. 3. ABORTION FOR THE SAKE OF
THE BABY
• I f it is conf ir med in t he ear ly per iod of
pr egnancy t hat a f oet us suf f er s f r om a
def ect t hat can' t be t r eat ed and t hat will
cause gr eat suf f er ing t o t he child, a
number of scholar s would say t hat it is
per missible t o abor t , provided that the
pregnancy is less than 120 days old.
• A slight ly mor e liber al opinion is t hat
abor t ion wit hin t he f ir st 120 days would be
per mit t ed if a child would be born with
such physical and mental def ormity as
would deprive the child of a normal lif e.
The opinion of at least t wo compet ent
medical specialist s is r equir ed.

51. 4. RAPE, INCEST AND
ADULTERY
• Some scholar s st at e t hat abor t ion wher e
t he mot her is t he vict im of a r ape or of
incest is per missible in t he f ir st 120 days
of t he pr egnancy.
• Ot her s say abor t ion f or such r easons is
never per mit t ed.
• Explaining t he dif f icult y of such a case,
one scholar says:
• I believe t hat t he value of lif e is t he same
whet her t his embr yo is t he r esult of

52. CASES
• I t is r epor t ed t hat B
osnian women
r aped by t he Ser bian ar my wer e issued
a f at wa allowing t hem t o abor t , but
wer e ur ged t o complet e t he abor t ion
bef or e t he 120 day mar k. A similar
f at wa was issued in Alger ia.
• This demonst r at es t hat I slamic law has
t he f lexibilit y t o be compassionat e in
appr opr iat e cir cumst ances.

53. 1) I n I slam, it is f orbidden (har am to abort
)
the f etus and if this is done, it would result
in the Di yah having to be paid. The Diyah is
t he r esponsibilit y of t he per son who was in
char ge of car r ying out t he abor t ion.
•I f t he doctor was t o per f or m it t hr ough an
oper at ion or by inj ect ing some medicat ion int o
t he woman and t hr ough t his act of his, t he child
was abor t ed, t hen he is responsible.
•I f it was t he mother her self who at e some pills
or was t o use somet hing else t hat t he doct or
pr escr ibed f or her t o t ake, t hen t he mother
would be responsible.
•I f the f ather did not know about t his t aking

54. CONT …
2) I f t he child was to die while in the womb
of t he mot her , t hen it is obligatory t o r emove
it f r om t he womb.
3) I f t he pr egnancy is a danger to the lif e of
t he mot her or would r esult in her become
handicapped, t hen it is permissible f or her t o
abor t t he child bef or e t he t ime when t he soul
has been inf used int o t he body.
•However it is not permissible to abort the
child once the soul has come into the body
and the f etus starts to move (inside t he

55. CONCLUSION
• Islam
permits
preventing
pregnancy f or valid reasons, it
does not allow abortion.
• EXCEP
TION
:
when doctors
declare with reasonable certainty
that the continuation of pregnancy
will endanger the woman' s lif e ;
– The reason f or this is that the
mother is the origin of the f oetus;
moreover,
her
lif e
is
well
established
with
duties
and

56. SOLUTION
SOLUTION

57. Child below ten years
1. Islamic teachings- stress the importance of life: ayat
quran
2. Not just blindly recite the quran-but understand the
teaching as well
–
The child needs to be able to make the connection by
himself
• Importance of life- among other steps: prophets are
sent to stop the killing of girls and all that
1. Exposure needs to be limited
–
–
According to islam child below ten is innocent
In the name of sex education this innocence can not be
corrupted

58. •
•
Books and movies- might contain knowledge. But
more of a genera knowledge, a child can get to know
these things as he attains maturity
General knowledge is not imperative for those under
10

59. Teenagers( 10-20)
1.Introduce to the concept of copulation
2.Start separating the girls from the boys
– Why? Explain. Stress how this would affect their
life
•
•
•
Instead of stating abortion as a solution, state the
difficulties of young parenthood.
if a mistake is made, consequences needs to be
faced
zina is a sin, and if they still commit to it, then they
need to face the consequence. Only problems have
solutions, mistakes only have consequences
1. schools:
– teach about safe sex. Contraception and all that

60. 1. Adulthood
–
–
In malaysia we have marriage courses
It should stress on family planning: teach about safe sex
1. Society
– Should not be in favour of abortion
– Feminist movement- should be about
compassion, how is seeking compassion for
women by disregarding another life is good?
– Mosque committees should play an active role
– Schools
• Teachers/counsellors be aware of the situations
• A lot of things like khalwat happens in school
• Lovers meet in school

61. • Government
• Campaigns
• Provide revised laws, and restrict the allowances
for abortion
• Any doctors or practices that violates the law
needs to be penalised heavily
• The license needs to be cancelled, or suspended.