Hinduism point of view on abortion

Abortion is the termination of pregnancy before maturity. Naturally, this is miscarriage. Abortion remains controversial in many parts of the world. However, in England, Scotland and Wales, the practice has been legal since 1967. In most cases, an expectant woman is allowed to abort under different circumstances. These include when the mother’s health is at risk, when the mother is mentally challenged and when there is reasonable chance of the mother giving birth to a seriously disabled child. Besides abortion being controversial in different countries, it also remains a thorny issue across various religions in the world today. From Christianity to Hinduism, faithful have varied beliefs on the issue. In this article, you will learn more on Hinduism point of view on abortion.

A summary of Hinduism point of view on abortion

One of the main principles of Hindu is ahimsa, which refers to nonviolence. Thus, when addressing the issue of abortion, Hindus believe in pursuing an action that poses the least threat to the people involved. These people include the mother, father, fetus, and the whole society. While this is the case, some Hindus hold that it is better for a woman to terminate her pregnancy than giving birth in abject poverty that would threaten the baby’s life. They also prefer ending the pregnancy if the baby is likely to be born with high degrees of physical and mental deformities.

From this perspective, it is evident that Hinduism generally opposes abortion unless the action aims at saving the life of the mother and the life of the newborn. Besides this, modern and traditional Hindus see abortion as a breach against people’s duty to reproduce and enhance family lineage. In other words, Hinduism point of view on abortion is that the exercise undermines bringing forth new members of the society.

Abortion among Hindus

Hindus strongly oppose abortion because of the harm it causes to the mother and the unborn. The argument in support of criminalization of abortion anchors on three main points. Firstly, they opine that terminating pregnancy is equivalent to killing a priest. Here, Hindus agree that unborn children are holy and do not deserve artificial death induced by human beings. Secondly, Hindus view abortion to be a worse sin compared to taking away the life of one’s parents.  This denotes the respect that Hindus accord the unborn. Lastly, a woman who commits abortion risks losing her position and membership rights of a specific caste. This means victims could face excommunication or seek refuge elsewhere to escape public sedimentation.

Importantly, giving birth among Hindus is a public duty and not merely a personal choice. Thus, women have a responsibility to not only conceive but also be ready to bring forth life and guarantee continuity of family lineage. While this is the case, what happens in the real world is quite different in the Indian culture. One of the reasons why this is the case is societal gender bias, where families prefer sons than daughters because of cultural inclination. This forces many women to terminate pregnancies to avoid the birth of girls. Indians refer to this as female feticide.

Analysis of Hinduism point of view on abortion

Hinduism point of view on abortion revolves a belief that the soul and matter of the fetus are joined from conception. According to the teachings of reincarnation, the fetus is already a person from the time of conception, annulling a belief that a fetus always develops into a person from conception to birth. Hindus believe that a fetus deserves appropriate treatment because it contains a reborn soul. This means that by the time a mother delivers after nine months, the fetus has substantial awareness. Additionally, abortion is disallowed among Hindus because the soul has the power to recall past lives during the final month before delivery. However, a woman loses these memories following trauma that accompanies birth.

Reincarnation forms the basis of Hinduism point of view on abortion and Hindu thinking. It sees life as a continuous cycle starting birth, death and rebirth. This forms a strong foundation in arguing against abortion because it deprives fetus a chance to develop into a potential human being. Thus, it denies the unborn spiritual progress. Hinduism point of view on abortion

 

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References:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/hinduethics/abortion_1.shtml

 http://www.eubios.info/EJ144/ej144j.htm

http://www.fnsa.org/fall98/murti.html

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/whitehindu/2013/04/hinduism-and-abortion/

http://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=2553