Hinduism And Abortion

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Abortion is essentially defined as the termination of pregnancy. This topic is very controversial as many women argue that it is their fundamental right to make decisions about their body. This topic can be viewed through two perspectives: pro-life and pro-choice. The stance that pro- life individuals take is that abortion is illegal since the fetus and the embryo are human beings, thus, have the right to live. On the other side, pro-choice believers argue that women deserve to make the choice of whether they want to terminate pregnancy or not. Currently, there is no single strict law abided by everyone since abortion laws differ from province to province. Abortion in general has been permitted in Canada since 1988. This means that every …show more content…
Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most respectful Hindu preeminent leaders, truly believed abortion should be considered a crime. Hinduism strongly opposes abortion as its religious books compare it to killing a priest, who are given a lot of respect by Hindu’s as they assist in the worship of the deities. Some of their religious texts also state that women who terminate pregnancy will lose their caste. Hence, Hindu culture emphasizes on the production of off springs as they believe it’s a public duty instead of a personal choice. Another religion that opposes abortion is Islam. Islam believes that the unborn have rights too. As women argue that they have the right to make decisions about their lives, Islam believes the child also has rights like the right of protection and the right of life. The Quran, the Holy book of Islam, states that abortion is not allowed under any conditions because human life is considered sacred. If for some reason a woman aborts a child, she must pay Diyah (blood money). Diyah is a traditional compensation that women would be responsible to pay. In pre Islam, the Diyah for taking a life was 10-she- camels. This number was increased to 100. The Diyah for unintentional killing must be paid in gold as Islam believes that the severest punishment should be given to the

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