Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

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Abortion of the disabled fetus is among the challenges of medical ethics, and decision-making in this respect is subject to a major controversy between Islam and Western philosophies. One reason is skepticism about the continued existence and evolution of the human soul after death, which has resulted in legitimacy of abortion of disabled fetuses in the West. Islam and Islamic philosophers, however, attribute great importance to the soul and its evolution, and therefore in decisions related to such embryos all aspects of the body and soul are considered, with more emphasis on the latter. Some issues that are raised in the Islamic worldview include: What is the reason behind embryonic defects? And does a disabled fetus also suffer from a defect in the soul?The present paper is a descriptive-analytical non-systematic review that uses a data collection approach. Regardless of the issue of ensoulment, the study intends to examine the evolution of the spirit (nafs) in the fetus during various stages of life (vegetative, animal and human) based on Mulla Sadra and Imam Khomeini's perspectives. It also aims to conduct a philosophical investigation into defects in creation and to find the answer to the important question of whether the soul of a disabled fetus is also imperfect. Findings of this study show that based on Mulla Sadra’s views, all living things have been created in the best and most perfect form. The disabled fetus is not an exception and therefore has a perfect soul, but the appearance of the soul in a malformed body is defective. The imperfection may have two causes: first, a wrong choice made by the soul of the disabled fetus in the world before this one, i.e. the Zar world, although the concept is among the unfolded mysteries of creation unfathomable by human knowledge second, effect of the genes and/or the environment, regardless of the choice made by the soul of the disabled fetus in the world of Zar.However, since decision making regarding abortion of disabled fetuses is still a matter of controversy in medical ethics, further studies from the perspective of Islamic philosophy seem necessary to help resolve the issue and provide ethical guidelines based on Islamic principles.

Keywords: deformed fetus, ethical philosophy, medical philosophy, Mulla Sadra, Imam Khomeini

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