What is the ruling on aborting a live fetus—in the sixth month of pregnancy—based on doctors' recommendations that it has severe deformities that could lead to its death during pregnancy or childbirth? And is the mother held accountable [in Islamic law] if she refuses the abortion and disobeys her husband's order?

The fatwa can be summarized in three points:

First: The fetus undergoes stages until the soul is breathed into it after 120 days of pregnancy, at which point it becomes a human being with its sanctity. It is permissible to abort a malformed fetus before the soul is breathed into it to avert harm. However, after the soul is breathed into it, abortion is forbidden by scholarly consensus and is considered killing a soul unjustly. The only exception to this is if the continued presence of the malformed fetus would endanger the mother's life.

Second: If it is medically proven that the continued presence of a malformed fetus endangers the mother's life, then it is permissible to abort it to preserve the mother's life.

Third: In cases where abortion is forbidden (after the soul is breathed in and there is no danger to the mother), it is not permissible for the father to order his wife to abort, nor is it permissible for her to obey him. If the woman obeys her husband, then the sin is upon both of them, and they owe the diyah (blood money) for the fetus (one-tenth of the mother's diyah) to its heirs, and expiation for killing (emancipating a believing slave or fasting for two consecutive months).