Is it permissible for a pregnant woman to exercise freedom over her body by aborting her fetus if it was conceived by mistake or if medical examination indicates that the fetus is disabled, such as having Down syndrome?
A person’s freedom over their body is only limited to what is permissible in Islamic law. As such, it is not permissible for a pregnant woman to abort her fetus unless the pregnancy poses a danger to her life or results in unbearable hardship (even if the unbearable hardship is due to caring for the child after birth). Then abortion is permissible before the soul enters the body (the 4th month, if it has not been proven to happen before then by modern means). As for after the entry of the soul, abortion is not permissible based on obligatory precaution. Moreover, the mere statement of the doctor or medical reports of the fetus being deformed or disabled is not a justification for abortion.