Buddhism and Abortion

Abstract

Buddhism, as with most other religions and spiritual traditions around the world, does not generally approve of killing. The Buddhist teaching consists of a series of guidelines that the follower is expected to follow in order to achieve the ultimate aim, which is Liberation or Nirvana. An important aspect of the practice is that one refrains from killing sentient animals. This, on the surface, seems to imply that abortion goes against the teaching of Buddhism. However, Buddhism is not only a purely spiritual religion in the sense that it deals exclusively with spiritual matters and not mundane ones. It is not expected that all adherents of Buddhism become arahants or those who become liberated from the cycle of births and rebirths in their own lifetimes, and more mundane moral teachings play a large role in all Buddhist societies. Nonetheless, as for the content of these more mundane moral teachings, it is largely up to the members of the society themselves to decide, as long as the decision does not conflict with the basic tenets of Buddhism itself. This paper argues that in order to live relatively peacefully in a particular concrete social setting, perhaps abortion needs to be allowed. This does not mean that Buddhism allows abortion, but it means that, in the specific social circumstances that we find ourselves in, abortion performed by medical professionals in a modern and hygienic setting may be needed. On the one hand, this goes against the purely spiritual teaching of Buddhism, but on the other hand, it is also in accordance with the tendency of Buddhism to leave social issues to the people to decide within certain limits. If they think that some form of abortion is best for a particular type of society, one that they prefer, then so long as this does not violate the very basic orientation of Buddhism itself it is up to them to do so while still being good Buddhists. The challenge certainly lies in how to reconcile the two.