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Is it permissible for a rape victim to abort her fetus, and what are the legal rulings and expiations that result from her doing so, and is it considered killing a soul?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The jurists are in agreement regarding the impermissibility of killing the fetus after the soul has been breathed into it (after 120 days of pregnancy have passed), unless the continuation of the pregnancy leads to the death of the mother. Whoever does this must repent to Allah, express remorse, resolve not to return to such an act, and increase in righteous deeds. She is obligated to pay the blood money (diyyah) for the fetus, which is five camels, to be given to its heirs, and the mother inherits nothing from it. She is also obligated to pay expiation for killing, which is the freeing of a believing slave; if she cannot find one, then fasting for two consecutive months. However, before the soul is breathed into it, it is permissible to abort a pregnancy resulting from rape.

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

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