I’ll be honest. As a woman, I sometimes worry that decisions about any aspect of my life may be made by others. The fact that these decisions may be taken, on my behalf, without my consent is frightening but that they may be taken without my knowledge is equally terrifying. I am certain that even women, who are confident in voicing their opinions and independent to take their own decisions, will be able to identify with this nagging fear of losing control! This is why it seems ironic that in most cases, women have made the choice to take another person’s life, without their knowledge or consent, only because it co-exists within their body.
Take a moment to consider, if your mother had decided not to have you, because she had a choice! What would you say to plead for your life? That’s right – you couldn’t possibly have said anything then. A slogan that caught my eye recently, expresses my sentiments in these words: “Ever notice that everyone, who supports abortion, has already been born?”
While it is certainly true that a woman’s body is greatly impacted by pregnancy, it is not true that abortion is simply a matter of her choosing to do something with her body. Science shows us that the unborn child is a genetically unique and separate person from his mother, even though dependent on the mother for survival. Abortion does not remove some part of the woman’s body; it destroys the body of another human being. Abortion is human intervention that does not allow a developing child to be born.
The question then arises, what do we want to choose? The simplest answer is, life or death, my child’s or mine. Pro-choice is the “cause” of women to take ownership of their bodies and “choose” to kill an unborn child. As Muslims, we see the threads of this argument unraveling upon itself. Women, men, children, are all Allah’s (swt) creation. He is the Owner of our body and our soul. It is He, who gives life, He who takes it away and He provides for us with all we need in this world.
There is no doubt that it is never easy for a woman to consider abortion, yet there are plenty of reasons for a woman to do so (be it poverty, family planning, population-control, single parent, rape or incest). Great efforts have been made to soften the blow of killing a human being: the term fetus has been redefined, the word choice has been substituted for abortion; however, it does not mask the truth that the pro-choice movement only offers a violent “solution” to the problem through abortion. They have no other choices available for the pregnant woman in need of help.
Jennie W. French, the founder of “National Women’s Coalition for Life” says: “The answer to a crisis pregnancy is to eliminate the crisis, not the child.” We need to reach out to every woman faced with the agony of abortion and say to her: “Your life and the life of your baby are both important, and we will not desert either one of you.” Take the first step: educate yourself and then others on the facts about abortion in Islam; volunteer in local pro-life groups; write to newspapers, radio and TV stations; support the cause through Zakat, Sadaqah and donations; and pray!
It is a daunting task but the most important thing that you can do is to become personally involved. Unless you do, nothing will change. In the end, our faith lies in the surety that Allah (swt) will not ask: “Did you succeed?” but “Did you try?”
“Sanctity of Life” is an organization dedicated to protecting the life of the unborn child. Though the injustice of abortion can be clearly established without depending on religious arguments, religious faith plays an important role in inspiring people to take an active part in confronting that injustice. Recognizing that abortion is wrong, a person’s faith compels them to do something to right that wrong. Our objective is to raise awareness about women’s reproductive health and abortion from moral, medical and religious perspectives. We arrange workshops and seminars for female population, lady health workers, nurses and female doctors. We invite you to join our efforts and play your part in saving a life. You can reach us at 0300-2343055/0345-2350029 and learn more about us at www.abortionbirthcontrol.com.
About author
