Fatwa bans abortion of AIDS-affected mothers

For the first time Muslim scholars took a stand on AIDS and issued draft fatwas. The fatwas ban abortion for mothers suffering from AIDS and decree that AIDS carriers who knowingly transmit the disease should be killed if their victims die. After four days of discussion in Abu Dhabi, some 150 Muslim scholars and sheikhs, who form the Council of Islamic Jurisprudence, took a unanimous stand on AIDS and issued draft fatwas. "Abortion is totally forbidden by Islam", they said, and added that mothers who have AIDS should not be separated from their children and should breast feed and bring up their children, unless a medical report advises against it. The scholars, who represent the Islamic ministries of the Organization of Islamic States decreed that AIDS carriers who knowingly transmit the deadly disease must be given punishments for premeditated murder if the recipient dies. Draft fatwas become law in countries applying the Shariat law and must be issued by the Islamic authorities in the countries concerned. One very important element of the decree was that they stressed that it is unacceptable to isolate AIDS victims.