Page "Religion and abortion" Paragraph 7

Classical Hindu texts strongly condemn abortion.

The British Broadcasting Corporation writes, " When considering abortion, the Hindu way is to choose the action that will do least harm to all involved: the mother and father, the foetus and society.

" The BBC goes on to state, " In practice, however, abortion is practiced in Hindu culture in India, because the religious ban on abortion is sometimes overruled by the cultural preference for sons.

This can lead to abortion to prevent the birth of girl babies, which is called ' female foeticide '.

" Hindu scholars and women's rights advocates have supported bans on sex-selective abortions.

Some Hindus support abortion in cases where the mother's life is at imminent risk or when the fetus has a life threatening developmental anomaly.