Abortion due to mental health issues
| Fatwa #2208 | Category: Miscellaneous | Country: Zambia | Date: 4th March 2026 |
| Fatwa #2208 | Date: 4th March 2026 |
| Category: Miscellaneous | |
| Country: Zambia | |
Question
There is a patient who has recently tested positive for pregnancy at about 4 weeks. She has been on antidepressant medication for a long period of time. When she stops this medication, her mental health deteriorates severely, to the extent that she becomes unable to function normally.
However, the medication she requires for stability is known to cause serious fetal malformations if taken during pregnancy. This creates two major harms: if she stops the medicine, her mental condition becomes dangerously worse; and if she continues the medicine, there is a high likelihood of severe congenital abnormalities in the fetus.
The doctors who assessed her advised that it is not safe for her to continue this pregnancy, due to the risks for both the mother and the fetus, and recommended that she seek termination in a hospital that provides such services.
In this situation—where there is significant expected harm to the mother without the medication, and significant expected harm to the fetus with the medication—what is the Islamic ruling regarding termination of the pregnancy at this early stage
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Abortion is permitted only in cases of extreme necessity.[1] The situation in reference would suffice as one. However, it would require that a competent pious practicing Muslim doctor/psychologist who understands the gravity of abortion assesses the situation and then provides a decision of whether or not to abort.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia
[1] https://daruliftaazambia.com/fatwa/?id=1136