Abortion permissible in five circumstances, rules Fiqh Academy

Government’s council of religious scholars, Maldives Fiqh Academy has released a fatwa today stating that abortion is acceptable in five circumstances.

The fatwa stated that abortion is permissible if a woman is pregnant as a result of rape, either by persons who the woman is prohibited to, or lawful to marry. In both cases, the council ruled that the fetus must be aborted within 120 days of conception.

The third circumstance, the council describes, is pregnancy of a minor through rape, whose body is too weak or not developed enough to sustain the fetus.

As a fourth circumstance, the council stated, is if the fetus is determined to have a major disease that would result in a medical deformity. In this case, the parents must be legally bound by marriage.

“If a woman comes to conceive through legal wedlock and if a doctor can confirm for a certainty that the fetus is a thalassemia major, or a sickle cell major, or if the fetus carries a disease that might result in a major permanent deformity to its body or its brain, and if the disease cannot be cured through medical treatment or medication, it is permissible for her to abort the fetus within 120 days of conception,” the Fiqh Academy statement read.

The fifth circumstance, the academy states, is if the fetus threatens the life of the mother.

The academy explained a fetus will gain life only after 120 days of conception and that in all five cases, abortion is only permissible if it is carried within 120 days of the day of conception.

In determining permissibility, the academy states that it must be clear whether the woman was raped, especially in the case of a legally wedded couple. In cases of disease resulting in deformities, a doctor or his team must provide an official statement in writing, assuring that the baby carries a major illness that warrants abortion.

Today’s fatwa is the sixth interpretation released by the Fiqh Academy since its founding in 2010.