Whose body? Whose choice? Abortion and Women’s Reproductive Choice in Hanafi Law

The overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision put women’s reproductive freedom in significant peril. The decision also generated debate within the American Muslim community on the permissibility of abortion in Islam. Muslim organizations submitted an amicus brief opposing overturning Roe v. Wade, arguing that Islamic law permits abortion (before a certain period). Other Muslim groups disputed this claim, stating that abortion is based on values which are not upheld by Islamic law. Hinging on this tension, this paper explores legal discussions in the Hanafi legal school on abortion (isqat al-haml) to investigate the juristic assumptions regarding the reproductive body and the fetus and how this shapes their conception of women’s reproductive rights. To address this, the paper asks whether the fetus is a legal person. What is the nature of the fetus’ rights and how were these rights considered in relation to the rights of the pregnant person?