Rabat – There is no text in the Quran or any prophetic saying that provides specific guidance on whether to prohibit or allow the termination of pregnancies in Islam, said Ahmed El Khamlichi, Director of Dar Al Hadith Al Hassania, during a meeting on reforming Moroccan law with respect to abortion organized on Monday by the Moroccan Association for the Fight Against Clandestine Abortion (AMLAC) in the capital of Rabat.
El Khamlichi’s comments on the issue, which he emphasized do not necessarily represent the position of Dar Al Hadith Al Hassania, a school of Islamic Studies, indicate that there is far from a consensus among Muslims regarding abortion.
From those who say that supporting abortion rights can be compatible with Islam and who call for its legalization on various grounds such as ensuring that abortions are safe, to others who believe that abortion is a punishable sin not compatible with being a devout Muslim, the door for debate and exchange of opinions on the issue remains wide open.
According to news website Alyaoum24, El Khamlichi said that there is no explicit provision regarding abortion in the Quran, the holy book of Muslims, or in the prophet’s hadiths (sayings), adding that abortion is a social problem that changes over time which means that applying a single religious text on it could be a very laborious task.
He cited verses of the Quran which he said were narrowly interpreted by some scholars. He added that among the scholars there are those who say that once the egg is fertilized abortion is impermissible and others who argue that abortion is permissible during the first 120 days of the pregnancy.
Recent figures have revealed that 24 out of 153 babies born out of wedlock every day in Morocco are being abandoned. A study conducted between 2003 and 2004 estimated the number of unwed mothers in Morocco at about 200,000 and the number of births out of wedlock at about 500,000.
The percentage of children born to unmarried mothers currently is about 13.46 percent of the total births in the kingdom, added the study.
AMLAC estimates the number of abortions carried out by doctors each day at about 600, including some 200 non-medical abortions.
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