2-3 months would, by one hadith, mean that the baby does not have a soul therefore the abortion would not be murder.
The Hanafi and Shafi scholars draw their verdict from the following Hadith.
Indeed, the creation of each one of you is brought together in the mother's belly for 40 days in the form of a drop of sperm, then he is a germ-cell for a like period, then an embryonic lump for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows the breath of life into him & who is commanded about four matters: to write down his means of livelihood, his life span, his actions and whether happy or unhappy By Allah, other than whom there is no God, one of you may behave like the people of paradise until there is but an arm's length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he behaves like the people of hell fire and thus he enters it; and one of you behaves like the people of hell fire until there is but an arm's length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he behaves like the people of paradise and thus he enters it."
( Related by Al Bukhari & Muslim.)
This Hadith makes it clear that a concieved baby has no no life, no soul, and is just a chunk of meat until 120 days after conception. At that point, aborting would be the taking of a life and hence murder.
On the other hand, the Hanbali and Maliki scholars argue that the above Hadith is weak, and instead base their view on the following Hadith.
In every one of you, all components of your creation are gathered together in your mothers’ womb by 40 days.
(Narrated in Saheeh Muslim and Al-Bukhaari).
This would suggest that everything, including the life & soul, are in the foetus within 40 days of conception and thus abortion after that would be murder.
First of all, I would not impose such a grave decision on my wife. I would, however, back her to my death on whatever decision she chooses to take about that fate of what is growing inside her. It is a fact that a child's mother is in most cases much more emotionally involved with a baby, both born and unborn, than the father can ever be.
Given that I am much more inclined to accept the Hanafi juristic view than any others, I would probably support my wife should she decide to go ahead with the abortion.
I would back her on the grounds that abortion would, at that stage of pregnancy, be nothing other than removal of a chunk of meat from inside of my wife, rather than being murder.
On the other hand, should the condition be diagnosed after 120 days following conception, then under no conditions whatsoever would I support the abortion. I have no wish to be party to murder. Should my wife decide to have the abortion regardless of my own views, I would divorce her following the abortion as I would not be able to stand being married to a murderer.
