What is the ruling on a husband trying to forcibly abort his wife in her second month in order to divorce her, and is his action permissible or impermissible, and what is its expiation?

It is not permissible to abort a pregnancy, whether the soul has been breathed into it or not, though its prohibition is more severe after the soul has been breathed into it. If the husband orders an abortion, the wife is not permitted to obey him. If one seeks to abort a pregnancy, it is not permissible unless its death is confirmed.

Abortion is forbidden because it is a trust that must be preserved, and the fact that the mother can only give birth via a surgical procedure is not an excuse for abortion. If the soul has been breathed into the pregnancy and then it is aborted, the mother is considered to have killed a soul and must offer expiation (freeing a slave or fasting for two consecutive months) if the pregnancy is four months old.

If the husband orders his wife to abort the fetus and she complies, both of them must offer expiation by freeing a believing slave or fasting for two consecutive months, and they must pay ghurrah (blood money for the fetus) to its heir. Since the pregnancy is in its second month and has not been aborted, expiation is not obligatory; rather, repentance to Allah is required.