Editing Religion and abortion (section)

==Hinduism==
{{Main|Hinduism and abortion}}
Most classical Hindu texts strongly condemn abortion, although the [[Sushruta Samhita]] recommends it if the fetus is defective.<ref name="Maguire 2003 p. 136">{{cite book | last=Maguire | first=D.C. | title=Sacred Rights: The Case for Contraception and Abortion in World Religions | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-19-028949-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9sJCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA136 | access-date=2023-04-05 | page=136}}</ref> 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 India, because the religious ban on abortion is sometimes overruled by the cultural preference for sons. This can lead to [[Sex-selective abortion|abortion to prevent the birth of girl babies]], which is called 'female foeticide'."<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/hinduethics/abortion_1.shtml BBC] "Hinduism and abortion"</ref> 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 foetus has a life-threatening developmental anomaly.

Some Hindu theologians and [[Brahma Kumaris]] believe personhood begins at three months and develops through to five months of gestation, possibly implying permitting abortion up to the third month and considering any abortion past the third month to be destruction of the soul's current incarnate body.<ref>Chapter 1: Dilemmas of Life and Death: Hindu Ethics in a North American Context | Date: 1995 | Author: Crawford, S. Cromwell</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/30/stories/2009073060530400.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107104333/http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/30/stories/2009073060530400.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=7 November 2012 | location=Chennai, India | work=[[The Hindu]] | title=A warning for doctors doing sex selection | date=30 July 2009}}</ref>