Obama on Abortion

A couple days back, US President Barack Obama has lifted a ban on American federal government on funding to foreign groups that promotes abortion (Al-Jazeera, BBC, CNN). This issue certainly has sparked a protest among those who oppose to abortion with sayings such as "We choose life" and accusing of Obama as a baby killer. On another aspect, this move is positively helpful to developing countries where family planning is not handled properly. With the political tension between the Democratic and the Republican party, the abortion issue is just one of the elements that differentiates the two political parties.

Morally, many religions would emphasize that every life deserve not to be killed. Thus, abortion is consider by many a taboo, especially in Malaysia. Even in neighboring countries like the Philippines, where the majority is Roman Catholic, abortion is consider to be a sinful act and to be despise of. In Islam, abortion is definitely consider as a sin. This is because the fetus is considered as a creation of life, and no one has the right to end a life which Allah has given to the mother to give birth to. In addition, the Quran also mentioned that no one should give away their children to the ease their burden of poverty (Dr. Arafat El Ashi, 2006). Unless, in a situation that the pregnancy does risk the health of the mother, only then does abortion is allowed in Islam. In addition, abortion in Islam is also allowed if the woman was raped by her enemy (Mufti Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, 2006). If so, then what about in other cases such as rape?

Democrats have always fought for family planning which includes sex education, use of contraceptive, and of course, abortion. Western ideologies are more liberal as compared to the Asian culture and philosophies that both contradicts each other. There are those who choose to be "pro-choice", proposing for abortion, because they believe a woman has more rights over her body. In this perspective, the fetus is consider as a property of the pregnant woman where she can choose to abort the child due to certain reasons. These may include poverty, health risk to the pregnant mother, no intention of wanting to raise a child, and preventing the child to be born with disabilities or ill conditions. Abortion is considered as a strategy in family planning, and for many agencies that are supported by the new administration of President Barack Obama, this really spells good news for them. As a Democrat, this move has truly upset the Republican party that is unacceptable to them.

One way to look abortion issue in America is the battle between the two stance: Democrat who are "pro-choice" and Republican who are "pro-life". The reason for this is because the Democrat have the tendency to be more liberal as compared to the conservative Republic. Thus, it would be obvious that Republic are more in root to their faith that the fetus is considered as a life and one that has the right to live. For the Democrat, many have opposing views and see that the woman would have more rights over their body including the fate of the fetus. This can easily be seen when America switches from one party to the next, the issue of abortion is directly proportional to the change in office administration.

Overall, as Muslims, the Islamic state that abortion is a sin and should only be considered in few circumstances. However, we should understand that some people view the matter differently because the fetus is defined as being a part of the woman and she has the right to abort the child. As of a result, the viewpoints of how acceptable is abortion to the society reflects upon their political leaders who pass judgment based upon their principles. One thing for sure, to bear the child is an amazing gift from Allah, but must be considered cautiously at the time of intercourse.

For more read:
1) Barack Obama on Abortion (OnTheIssues.org)
2) McCain and Obama on Abortion (TIME)
3) Barack Obama on Abortion and Birth Control (glassbooth)
4) Sources: Obama may quickly reverse abortion policy (CNN)
5) Religion & Ethics - Christian view of Abortion: Roman Catholic (BBC)
6) Islam and Abortion (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children)