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Is abortion permissible if tests prove the fetus is afflicted with a serious, incurable genetic disease (Wolman's Syndrome), and what is the maximum duration allowed for performing such a procedure?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the fetus reaches 120 days of gestation, abortion is absolutely impermissible unless the continuation of the pregnancy poses a certain danger to the mother's life. As for before ensoulment (120 days), there is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the permissibility of abortion; some permit it, while others do not permit it at all. It is permissible to abort a severely malformed fetus before 120 days if this is confirmed by a reliable medical committee report and upon the request of the parents, even though some jurists limit permissibility to the first forty days. However, malformations and genetic diseases do not permit abortion if there is no danger to the mother's life. In vitro fertilization with genetic screening of embryos can also be resorted to.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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