“Abortion and the Human Position in Existence”
The twelfth pre-session of the International Conference on Ethical Analyses of Fetus Advocates, titled “Abortion and the Human Position in Existence,” was held with a presentation by Dr. Alireza Ale Bouyeh on Saturday, 28 November 2025, at Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy.
In this session, Dr. Ale Bouyeh, while referring to the significance and status of the human being in the cosmos, stated that the discussion here is from the perspective of moral theology in the Qur’an, which considers the killing of a human being to be morally wrong. On this basis, he raised the question: Does this ruling also apply to the abortion of a human fetus?
In response, he presented the Qur’anic anthropological foundations regarding the importance and status of the human being in existence at three levels: the origin of humankind, the nature of the human being, and the destiny of humankind. He then elaborated on the relevant Qur’anic verses. Afterward, by presenting material perspectives of Western ethical thinkers such as Peter Singer concerning the human being and the human fetus, he compared the two outlooks.
According to Dr. Ale Bouyeh, these two perspectives—material versus theistic/exalted—determine whether abortion can be considered permissible or not. The theistic and transcendent view of humanity never grants permission to take human life, and consequently gives no license for killing a human fetus, which is a potential human being journeying toward eternity and everlasting life. In contrast, materialistic perspectives readily grant such permission.
Based on the Qur’anic principles and premises presented, he developed the following argument for the immorality of abortion:
- Killing a human being is morally wrong.
- The wrongness of killing a human being stems from the inherent value of human life.
- The life of the human fetus is as valuable as the life of an actual human being.
Therefore, abortion is morally wrong.
The scholarly session concluded with a series of questions addressed to Dr. Ale Bouyeh, followed by his responses to the issues raised.