Yasir Qadhi – Reflections On the Overturning of Roe Vs. Wade

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			Spill Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala Rasulillah, who either early he will be the woman or the
humble. This last week, I've been bombarded with so many questions, especially our youth. I've had a
number of conversations with them about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. And even today in my office
hours I had, you know, some youth as well with so many questions. So I thought it would be useful to
share some Islamic perspectives on this regard so that inshallah Tada we can benefit and begin a
broader discussion obviously, only so much can be done in a short hot era. For those of you who are
not aware, Roe vs. Wade is one of the most landmark and historic Supreme Court rulings in this
		

			country. It was passed in 1973. So basically 50 years ago, 49 years ago, and it is considered to be
the culmination of the second wave of feminism. So I need to now take a step back and explain what
is second wave feminism. So feminism is a movement as you're aware, these days, they consider to
have four stages. The first stage, which began at the turn of the century, was the fight for women
to have the political fight for women to have the right to vote, and the right to own property, by
and large that was finished and successful by World War One. So across all America, European
countries, Western countries, women won this right. World War One World War two kind of halted the
		

			feminist movement. Post World War two second wave feminism began, second wave feminism began
challenging gender roles. And the notion that men and women should have the same opportunities and
the same playing field should be leveled up until World War One on to women's roles was very
different career wise, education wise, look at any black and white movie, look at any historical
record in the past women were, let's say nurses and men were so there was this gender role that was
understood. World War One World War Two because of obviously the socio economic factors, men are
going towards things are changing. So second wave feminism begins second wave feminism, women are
		

			arguing that, why should there be any difference, we can do the same thing as men. And so education
wise, a lot of people don't know this, that up until the late 60s, early 70s. Most universities were
gender segregated. Harvard and Yale only began admitting women 1970 Unbelievable. This is a
generation where many of you might have been studying in college. This is when these universities
began admitting 1970 not 18 1970. So second wave feminism, they wanted a level playing field men and
women should be the same in this regard. And intimacy wise as well. How can men get to have fun and
women cannot get to have the same type of you know, sexual intimacy. So you had a part of this was
		

			the revolution, the you know, the hippie movement and the notion of sexual freedom, if you're aware
of, you know, that movement as well, in this timeframe. One of the rights they wanted therefore,
because the problem comes Okay, education wise, both can study in the same class, what not, but when
it comes to intimacy, when it comes to *, one of the genders gets burdened the way the
other gender doesn't correct. One of the genders is left with something that is not wanted, and the
other gender gets to walk away scot free, right. So in this second wave feminism, they began
demanding the right for not just abortion, but also contraception. Again, many of us don't know
		

			this. Up until this point in time, it was very difficult for a woman or a man to get contraception.
It was only in the 1960s that the government opened this door because they understood or the
whatever the reason was, they thought it would lead to immorality, which obviously it will they
thought, well, let's keep a control on this. So in the 60s and 70s, contraception became widely
available before this point in time you needed a doctor's prescription, believe it or not, and it
was very embarrassing, and you a woman had to go, it was very awkward. And women also began
demanding the right of of what abortion why because freedom now, no baggage left, whatever happens,
		

			okay, now it's fair because before this point in time, if the man does something and leaves, who's
gonna get you know, quote, unquote, stuck with the child, so the right of abortion became a hallmark
		

			Are the second wave feminism so much so it was considered and it is considered to be the victory of
second wave feminism. This is the culmination of women's rights of the second wave. And third wave
begins after Roe vs. Wade in the late 70s, early 80s. And that's a different wave where women are
demanding representation. Wherever there's men, there should also be women and women are demanding
equal pay. And again, I'm just speaking factually over here. As for my own views, and whatnot, I've
given a whole about gender and Islam. And we firmly believe that genders do have meaning and genders
do have a role as given an A hold the right and I'm being factual here. So third wave feminism, that
		

			fourth wave feminism were interested in second wave. So Roe versus Wade was passed at the
culmination of the second wave feminist movement, and it was viewed to be the biggest victory for
feminism. 49 years remains unchallenged. It was passed by a vote of seven to two, what is Roe vs.
Wade? It is the court's ruling that the government's the constitution of this country
		

			guarantees the right of woman to have an abortion. So the federal government along with the
guarantee of no police can, you know, take your property without a warrant, they cannot serve all of
this guarantee freedom of speech. So this the Roe versus Wade said, of the guarantees of the
Constitution is that a woman has the right for abortion, what that court case did because it's
Federal Supreme Court, all 50 states of the country have to allow it because that's the Supreme
Court. And government funding is now applicable because the Supreme Court As you're all aware,
America is a conglomerate of states states and and federal, they always have an awkward relationship
		

			together. But when the federal government and the federal court the Supreme Court passed it, all
states have to come on board. And so it becomes a constitutional right. As we're aware, many people
challenged this. And last week, by a vote of six to four, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade.
Now what does it mean to overturn Roe vs. Wade? A lot of people don't understand this, right? Their
argument does not ban abortion. A lot of people missed the point. Their argument is actually very
simple and straightforward. It's very simple. Their argument is the founding fathers of this
country, and the Constitution they drafted has nothing to do with abortion. They didn't imagine the
		

			Founding Fathers about abortion. And it is a mistake to link abortion to the Constitution. This is
all they're saying. They are dealing King, the constitutional guarantee. And they are saying the
government based on the Constitution has no right to get involved. Hence, it goes back to what now?
The states, a lot of people are misunderstanding that this ruling is banning abortion. No. It's
literally withdrawing federal support agreed. But it has no effect on any ban. But effectively,
obviously, immediately, as you know, 15 states whatever they went into ban locally in their states,
but the government, the federal government is not getting involved. They're saying that it was a
		

			mistake, by the way. Roe versus Wade what was passed, I think seven to two, the two dissenting, the
two dissenting Supreme Court justices. That's exactly what they argued. That's exactly what they
said. Whatever your position might be. It's not a part of the Constitution. You're reading it in
those two dissenting voices now becomes the majority, six out of four and they're saying the same
thing. Okay, now, this is the history of Roe versus Wade. Now, a lot of Muslims immediately get
bogged down to the filth of abortions. As for the filth of terminating pregnancies, I've given a
whole hour q&a with Dr. Hatem al Hajj, one of the senior scholars of North America and a medical
		

			doctor, one of the few people who's combined knowledge of medicine and a PhD in Islamic fields. I
have an interview with him here in epic masjid, during COVID. We had a zoom interview, you can
listen to that. And it's a very detailed lecture the fifth of of terminating pregnancies, you can
listen to that. And in a nutshell, there's no question I have to summarize all of this. There's no
question the default in our Shetty is that Allah blesses you with the child, you take it as a gift.
The default is the preservation of life. And exceptions are exceptions. And our position is
definitely not as strict as some evangelicals and Catholics, but it is definitely not as open or
		

			liberal as the left is as well. We celebrate life and we affirm that Allah blesses. So we're
supposed to maintain that life, but there are exceptions. And definitely in the first, you know,
month or so perhaps there's a few more laxity is given, but never never is aborting or getting rid
of a pregnancy allowed because of an inconvenience because of monetary factors.
		

			Because of the standard reasons that are given here, medical issues, no doubt, yes. And that can be
even maybe in the second trimester medical issues, issues of you know, problems, no doubt. So the
Sharia has a more nuanced view, you can listen to it in the lecture over there. And we need to be
practical here. Now, forget the Roe versus Wade, the reality in this country. For the last 10 years,
roughly roughly 1 million fetuses were being aborted roughly, sometimes more sometimes than 1
million for the last 10 years. Now, whenever Roe versus Wade comes up, and abortion, you always find
generally in the left wing media, a very emotional story of a lady struggling with a problem or a
		

			* or an * and wasn't able to be aborted. Actually, if you look at the statistics, now the
problem comes statistics, the government did not and does not compile statistics on why abortion
occurs. This is private entities, and some states they monitor white. So I did a quick survey today.
And I'm giving a general numbers I'm not claiming these are exact, but I did enough to know and
shall this is confident to say rough ideas. Generally speaking, abortions that are due to * and
* are less than 0.5%. Generally speaking, abortions due to * and * less than 0.5%.
That's one out of 200 less than that. Abortion due to medical issues very broadly defined very
		

			broadly. Because when you say medical, what do you mean is the mother's life in danger? Is the child
going to be born with abnormality, that's a whole big spectrum, roughly five to 8%, depending on
what survey looked at five to 8%, the default of abortions, unmarried
		

			mothers who did not want to have a child for financial or it was inconvenient, or they didn't have a
partner with them in some surveys and statistics, up to 85% of abortions is because of this
statistic. So when you read one of these sad stories and whatnot, this is the point 5%. Let's not
forget the default, the default, it's inconvenient, of an action that should not have occurred, you
get what I'm talking about, right? It's the byproduct of something that should not have happened,
and you're like, Oh, now what do I do, and then they go for the abortion. So let's be very clear
that those people that are bringing up those exceptional scenarios, we don't base your Commissioner
		

			you on exceptional, we base it on the hook, am here. Now, another point that I also want to mention
when we talk about this issue of abortion is that Subhanallah we thank Allah we thank Allah, that
our shittier has come with clear cut guidelines, because honestly, it is really a difficult
situation or scenario. When does life begin? Who has the right when it's early, middle late? All of
these questions have a philosophical, theological, ethical nature. How would you resolve them if you
didn't have revelation from Allah subhanho wa taala. As for us, I said, well, in Santo and Yutaka.
Sudha did man think that he will be left without a Sharia. As for us, Allah says, about Okumu,
		

			Obinna acuminata.
		

			Your father's and your sons, you don't know which one of them will benefit you more when it comes to
the inheritance and the fractions of inheritance. Allah says How would you decide the fractures of
inheritance between your father and mother between your son and daughter? How would you decide? How
would we decide anything without Sharia, our morality, our o'clock our adab our halal and haram? If
we were to leave this to the chaos of people voting of the fads that take place amongst people
Subhan Allah one day something will be halal the next year will be out on doesn't work that way. The
Khaled is what Allah has made halal. The Haram is what Allah has made haram and the shitty outcomes
		

			and teaches us this reality that's why Allah says that. You Halal the hermit Baba you heard him talk
about the Sharia outcomes to make the pure things halal, and the filthy things haram How would you
know pure and filthy unless the Sharia has come? So we need to use this conversation about the gray
area of ethics, morality, politics, law to teach our communities and the broader society the
blessings of having a divine revelation when Allah azza wa jal reveals in the Quran when the
prophets of salaam says 40 days here, 120 days there hamdulillah things clear up we now have a clear
cut understanding when is the roof blown in our foot? Ha ha, yes, there's a small spectrum of 50
		

			law, which is always the case, but it is relatively small spectrum. Our folk AHA generally have a
very clear idea about the filth of terminating pregnancies. We thank Allah for this because when
Allah speaks, the messenger speaks send me I know what Alterna so we don't have to worry about those
ethical and philosophical debates that takes place outside here. Now, another point I also wanted to
		

			mention is that too many of us, especially our youngsters are caught up in the rhetoric of the left
and the rhetoric of the progresses of the Democratic Party. And we have to keep this in check. We
are neither Democrats nor Republicans. We are neither left nor right. Our language is not the
language of the current politics. It is the language of the Sharia, the language of the Quran and
Sunnah. We don't base things based upon the fads of today. No, we are above this. We need to teach
our children this and honestly, not just our children and our community, we need to preach to those
around us the reality of why this is taking place. You see, we jump to the problem to the cure, and
		

			we forget the solution. This whole debate that is taking the country by rage about the rights of
abortion, abortion. Well, let's take a step back. What's happening before the abortion such that
you're thinking about an abortion. This spread of immorality and the normalization of far hisher.
And the prevalence of the hookup culture, it is something that is should astonish the average mind
100 years ago, in this country, less than one out of 10 men and women engaged in premarital
*, the norm was you wait, you live a dignified life and then you get married? This is just
100 years ago. Now. I just looked up the surveys. Almost 97% of men and women some said 9899 engaged
		

			in premarital in the broader society. There is no concept of it being immoral. So you guys, the
broader society is jumping to the problem and you're forgetting the cure. You're forgetting why this
problem is happening. This problem is happening because you have lost all morality. You don't have a
sense of what is decent and dignified and you have opened the door for fascia. So we as Muslims need
to be very clear about this. It is actually a mistake to jump into the abortion debates without
taking the step back and talking about a HELOC and morality Hi yah, our profit system said Every
religion has one defining characteristic and the defining characteristic of our deen is modesty.
		

			Hyah HYAH modesty. So when you open the door of fascia, and this leads us to even the ultimate
source of opening the door for Pfizer, because far Hashem is linked with not believing in a higher
power, not believing in a day of judgment. If you believe in a higher power, this country was
Christian 100 years ago, very Christian. That's why far Asia was very rare, less than one out of 10
religious levels have gone down belief in God is now considered to be antiquated. They don't believe
in a hereafter. What's going to happen when you don't have Iman in a higher power, society is going
to go as it has become. So we as Muslims, we have an important role to play that role is to be
		

			beacons of preaching morality and the truth we have to tell society around us. We are Allah's
delegates to be honest, where Allah is quantum HydroMet and oh, god knows, Allah sent us that maroon
had been my roofie when what and how Nandan Wonka. Allah has chosen us to preach the truth and
forbid against the evil. We cannot force anybody that's their business, but we have to preach the
truth. We have to speak the truth. We have to live the truth and eventually the people around us as
they see all of society become corrupt, and the evil becomes even more evil and the far harsher
becomes even more foolish as it is happening now. When we stand up and preach the truth insha Allah
		

			Allah Allah, people with pure hearts, pure fedoras will click they will understand, yes, these
people have a religion from ALLAH SubhanA wa taala. So, conclusion here, it is a mistake to jump
into the abortion debate immediately. It's a mistake, because the abortion debate is predicated from
a culture of fire shot from a culture of promiscuity from a culture of complete allowance of every
haram. We have to go behind this and say hold on a sec, this should not be normal. And it is not
normal because we believe in Allah subhanho wa taala. So we link it even beyond this even to the
basics of Eman and Allah azza wa jal, and we call people worse than the sin of abortion is the sin
		

			of schicken. Cofer worse than this is this enough Shere Khan Cofer. So we have to preach people
about believing in Allah azza wa jal, and morality and tohave. And one final point, my conversations
this last week and they should not be any surprise to you was very interesting to say the least. I
think there is a clear divide between most of our youth and most of our elders. In this issue, which
is symptomatic of their views on religion and deen and liberalism and feminism. There is a clear
		

			You're divided between college and teenagers versus those that are in their 40s and 50s or maybe
even late 30s. So I strongly encourage all of you parents to sit down with your teenage children, or
even teenagers, maybe even middle school are very well aware of what's going on and open up this
conversation. What do you think about this overturning of Roe vs Wade and began talking about
o'clock morality hayah belief in Allah subhana wa Tada explained to them it's a mistake to jump all
the way there without working your way up with iman and Allah with believing in what is halal and
haram with the reality of what happens when a foundation has opened up. It is not healthy when our
		

			community is so divided where the youngsters are, pretty much many of them if you see what's
happening are aligned in one in one area. And the elders are very much disconnected from what's
going on and not even communicating with them. So I strongly urge every parent to sit down with your
children to have frank conversations and to bring them back to the basics. What is the basics? We
believe in Allah, Allah sent down the Quran with our prophets of salaam to teach us how to live our
lives ethically and morally and when we follow that Sharia when we follow the Quran and Sunnah our
lives and societies around us will be pure and healthy. May Allah subhana wa Tada guide all of us to
		

			that which he loves. May Allah azza wa jal protect our children and grandchildren. May Allah subhana
wa Taala allow our sons and daughters to be beacons of morality and beacons of love, which is akmola
who was set on why they can rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.
		

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