Abortion

Abortion not in Sacred Writings and time has not come for detailed legislation on abortion (though will be by House of Justice)

Abortion not in Sacred Writings; to be dealt with by the Universal House of Justice

"Regarding the practice of abortion; as no specific reference has been made to the subject in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, it devolves upon the International House of Justice to definitely pronounce upon it."

(On behalf of the Guardian, 13 November 1940, cited in Interpretation and the Guardianship, Ian Semple, Lights of Irfan, 6, at https://bahai-library.com/semple_interpretation_guardianship )

"As there is nothing specific in the Bahá'í Writings on the subject of abortion, it will consequently have to be dealt with by the Universal House of Justice, when that Body is formed."

(On behalf of the Guardian, 20 October 1953, cited in Interpretation and the Guardianship, Ian Semple, Lights of Irfan, 6, at https://bahai-library.com/semple_interpretation_guardianship )

"There is nothing in the Sacred Writings specifically on the subjects of birth control, abortion or sterilization, but Bahá’u’lláh did state that the primary purpose of marriage was the procreation of children, and it is to this primary purpose that the beloved Guardian alludes in many of the letters which are quoted in the compilation."

(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, letter to an individual believer, January 28, 1977, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1163)

Need for moderation in avoiding seeking to eliminate every "grey area" as some legislation to change over time and be at the conscience of the individual, including in consultation

"The Universal House of Justice does not feel that the time has come for it to provide detailed legislation on subjects such as abortion, homosexuality and other moral issues. The principles pertaining to these issues are available in the book "Lights of Guidance" and elsewhere. In studying these principles, it should be noted that in most areas of human behaviour there are acts which are clearly contrary to the law of God and others which are clearly approved or permissible; between these there is often a grey area where it is not immediately apparent what should be done. It has been a human tendency to wish to eliminate these grey areas so that every aspect of life is clearly prescribed. A result of this tendency has been the tremendous accretion of interpretation and subsidiary legislation which has smothered the spirit of certain of the older religions. In the Bahá'í Faith moderation, which is so strongly upheld by Bahá'u'lláh, is applied here also. Provision is made for supplementary legislation by the Universal House of Justice -- legislation which it can itself abrogate and amend as conditions change. There is also a clear pattern already established in the Sacred Scriptures, in the interpretations made by `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, and in the decisions so far made by the Universal House of Justice, whereby an area of the application of the laws is intentionally left to the conscience of each individual believer. This is the age in which mankind must attain maturity, and one aspect of this is the assumption by individuals of the responsibility for deciding, with the assistance of consultation, their own course of action in areas which are left open by the law of God."

(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, Legislating on Morality, at https://bahai-library.com/uhj_legislating_morality )

There may be circumstances where an abortion is justified, but left to conscience and medical advice in light of general guidance in the Teachings

"Basically the deliberate taking of human life is forbidden in the Cause, but the Sacred Text envisages certain possible exceptions to this rule and allows for the Universal House of Justice to legislate upon them. One such possible exception is the matter of abortion. It is clear that it is absolutely forbidden for a woman to have an abortion merely because she wants to have one, but there may be circumstances in which an abortion might be justified. However, at the present time we do not wish to legislate on whether or in what circumstances abortion may be permitted, and therefore the whole matter is left to the consciences of those concerned who must carefully weigh the medical advice on the case in the light of the general guidance given in the Teachings."

(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, letter dated February 5, 1975, to a National Spiritual Assembly; Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies -- Developing Distinctive Bahá'í Communities, p. 10)

(Normally) abortion is forbidden/strongly deprecated

"The practice of abortion - which is absolutely criminal as it involves deliberate destruction of human life - is forbidden in the Cause."

(On behalf of the Guardian, 25 August 1939, cited in Interpretation and the Guardianship, Ian Semple, Lights of Irfan, 6, at https://bahai-library.com/semple_interpretation_guardianship )

"Regarding the practice of abortion; as no specific reference has been made to the subject in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, it devolves upon the International House of Justice to definitely pronounce upon it. There can be no doubt, however, that this practice, involving as it does the destruction of human life, is to be strongly deprecated."

(On behalf of the Guardian, 13 November 1940, cited in Interpretation and the Guardianship, Ian Semple, Lights of Irfan, 6, at https://bahai-library.com/semple_interpretation_guardianship )

Specific cases

As birth control

Abortion Merely to Prevent the Birth of an Unwanted Child is Strictly Forbidden in the Cause

"Abortion merely to prevent the birth of an unwanted child is strictly forbidden in the Cause. There may, however, be instances in which an abortion would be justified by medical reasons, and legislation on this matter has been left to the Universal House of Justice. At the present time, however, the House of Justice does not intend to legislate on this very delicate issue, and therefore it is left to the consciences of those concerned who must carefully weigh the medical advice in the light of the general guidance given in the teachings."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Ireland, March 16, 1983, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1154)

Abortion for preventing birth of children forbidden; the soul appears at conception

"Abortion and surgical operations for the purpose of preventing the birth of unwanted children are forbidden in the Cause unless there are circumstances which justify such actions on medical grounds, in which case the decision, at present, is left to the consciences of those concerned who must carefully weigh the medical advice in the light of the general guidance given in the Teachings. Beyond this nothing has been found in the Writings concerning specific methods or procedures to be used in family planning. It should be pointed out, however, that the Teachings state that the soul appears at conception, and that therefore it would be improper to use such a method, the effect of which would be to produce an abortion after conception has taken place."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, May 23, 1975, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1155)

After a rape

Regarding a believer who is the victim of rape, whether to continue (or terminate) the pregnancy is left to the woman to decide (taking into account medical, other factors, and the Baha'i Teachings)

"One of the most heinous of sexual offenses is the crime of rape. When a believer is a victim, she is entitled to the loving aid and support of the members of her community, and is free to initiate action against the perpetrator under the law of the land should she wish to do so. If she becomes pregnant as a consequence of this assault, no pressure should be brought upon her by the Bahá'í institutions to marry. As to whether she should continue or terminate the pregnancy, it is left to her to decide on the course of action she should follow, taking into consideration medical and other relevant factors, and in the light of the Bahá'í Teachings ..."

(Universal House of Justice, quoted in The American Bahá'í, November 23, 1993, pp. 10-11, taken from https://bahai-library.com/winters_ethics_survey )

For "medical reasons" (Life/health of the mother?)

There may, however, be instances in which an abortion would be justified by medical reasons, and legislation on this matter has been left to the Universal House of Justice. At the present time, however, the House of Justice does not intend to legislate on this very delicate issue, and therefore it is left to the consciences of those concerned who must carefully weigh the medical advice in the light of the general guidance given in the teachings."

(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Ireland, March 16, 1983, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1154)

Severely handicapped foetus

Termination of pregnancy with a severely handicapped foetus is left to judgment of capable professionals in the field and consciences of the parents

"As to the permissibility of terminating a pregnancy following the discovery through amniocentesis of a severely handicapped foetus, this is a matter left to the judgement of capable professionals in the field, and the consciences of the parents. As you are aware, the Bahá'í Writings prohibit the practice of abortion solely for the purpose of terminating unwanted pregnancies; however, circumstances may occur in which an abortion would be justifiable. The Texts of the Faith do not specify what these circumstances are, and the House of Justice does not wish to legislate on this matter presently. Therefore, a Bahá'í couple faced with making this decision should be guided by this principle, the best medical advice possible, and their individual consciences."

(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, 21 May 1992, to an individual, at https://bahai-library.com/uhj_compilation_reproduction#8 )

Bahá'í institutions may intervene in such cases as a Bahá'í doctor advocating abortion as a method of birth control and who set up a clinic for that purpose

"You cite the case of Bahá'ís in other fields of expertise, such as Bahá'í physicians who, you say, "may pursue their professions as Bahá'ís with no prospect of interference by Bahá'í institutions". This is hardly the case. All Bahá'ís are subject to Bahá'í law and Bahá'í standards. It would clearly be unacceptable for a Bahá'í doctor to advocate abortion as a method of birth control and set up a clinic for that purpose, or for a Bahá'í psychiatrist to publicly advocate sexual intercourse before marriage."

(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, 10 December 1992, Issues Related to the Study of the Bahá'í Faith, at https://bahai-library.com/compilation_issues_study_bahai )

See also

• Birth control
• Conception