Question

You say:

“Thus, if there are any moral, ethical, social or medical justifications for aborting the process of the formation of a human being, it should be carried out before this time”

In Pakistan, rapid population growth rate and exploding population is the key factor in nullifying all the development efforts undertaken. Pakistan Population Welfare Program has been unable to cope with this situation effectively on account of different reasons among which religious taboos are an important contributing element. For example, if a couple intends to postpone further conception, and you know that the available contraceptives are not absolute, and unplanned pregnancy occurs then it is considered religiously unjustified and prohibited to abort the process, even in the very beginning.

I want to clarify that can abortion be legalized as a mean of family planning provided unplanned pregnancy occurs on account of contraceptive failure or others, and it has been ascertained medically that the gestational period is one of the vessel stage and human attributes are still not developed.

Answer

I would not like to promote Abortion as a means of Family Planning or as a scheme of population control. In my opinion, population control schemes should focus on preventing conception and making the means of preventing conception as effective as possible. Nevertheless, when conception is effected, even if by accident, I would recommend that abortion of the fetus should be avoided except under extra-ordinary circumstances which morally justify taking such a severe action.

As for the factor of ‘religious taboos’ hindering the schemes of Population Control, the only way of relieving the society of such taboos is to provide good basic education of religion to the society as a whole and to adequately counter the arguments of those religious scholars who consider all forms of Family Planning to be contrary to the teachings of Islam.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Moiz Amjad

UIUK
January 21, 2003