Aborsi Dalam Perspektif Lintas Agama

Abortion is considered as one of the reproductive health issues that spark controversy from religious perspectives. Each religion has different views in judging abortion. In the meanwhile, the government of Indonesia is categorized as one of the countries that take on the most conservative position, by explicitly prohibiting the practice of abortion as stated in the Criminal Law (KUH Pidana) article 346. In relation to religion, the role of religious leaders is very important in defining whether or not abortion and its aspects are legal or not.

This study tries to understand the issue of abortion from the views of 3 different religions in Indonesia with the largest number of followers, namely Islam, Protestant, and Catholic. The religious leader of each religion represents the views of these three religions, and basically, abortion cannot be viewed in black and white (accepting or not accepting abortion totally). Abortion is not only a matter of killing another human being, which is prohibited by any religion. Abortion is also about a woman’s reproductive health, especially when the pregnancy is due to rape or if during the pregnancy there are health problems encountered, which forces one to choose between the mother and the baby.

While Islam and Christian religious leaders tend to have various views on abortion, Catholic leaders seem to have a similar point of view regarding this topic. The level of tolerance towards abortion is lowest among the Catholic leaders compared to the leaders of the two other religions. However in praxis, the three religions agree that abortion is allowed if the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother. Therefore, a second opinion for a health professional is important in the diagnosis of problems during pregnancy.

Key word: Abortion, Reproductive Health, Religious Perspectives