Abortion in Hinduism, while generally sinful by traditional Hindu scriptures and the guiding precept of non-injury, can be interpreted equivocally within the vast spectrum of Hindu beliefs and texts and ultimately depends on individual context. The Mahanarayana Upanishad lists abortion with actions such as breaking one's vow of chastity. Some Hindu scriptures assert that "abortion is a worse sin than killing one's parents" and another text says that "a woman who aborts her child will lose her status". In general, Hinduism teaches the guiding principle of Ahimsa, abstention from causing harm or injury to all living beings, which serves as the root of the ethic of non-violence.
However, Hindu texts such as the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana, as well as scholars disagree about what the principles of Ahimsa dictate when one is faced with situations that require self-defense or self-study. Just as some Hindu texts on Ahimsa praise meat consumption while others suggest a taboo on meat-eating, the precept of "non-injury" has a dynamic meaning throughout the history of Hindu philosophy and text.
Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita argue that the soul is neither born, nor does it die; so-called "sin" cannot touch those who dedicate their actions to duty and devotion to Brahma (thus seated in the Absolute Truth), like a lotus leaf is untouched by water.
Interpretations based on Hindu Texts
The Concept of the Soul
According to an article on September 1, 1985 on the Hinduism Today website, "Several Hindu institutions have shared their positions on abortion recently. The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University does not take a formal unchanging political or religious stance on the issue of abortion. According to Vedic literature an eternal individual soul inhabits the body of every living creature...The soul enters the womb at the time of conception, and this makes the fetus a living, individual person." The Bhagavad Gita states that the soul is neither born, nor does it die. The Bhagavata Purana goes further to state that Jīva (soul) is eternal and as such is unrelated to his body, not subject to decay or change and thus dispassionate. Some Hindu theologians believe personhood begins at 3 months and develops through to 5 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.
Discourse in Texts and by Religious Leaders
Hindus go as far as to make clear distinctions in their sacred texts between abortions and miscarriages. The text goes as far as stating that killing a male embryo who could have been a Brahmin is the same as killing an adult Brahmin which is considered one of the worst sins one can commit. This, again, reiterates the importance of producing offspring that serve a particular societal role, which may be of dubious concern in modern society. The Bhagavad Gita also includes lamentation of the degradation of a dynasty or society through "undesirable progeny" which has been interpreted by some to mean a lack of descendants qualified to perform propitiatory rites.
The primary discourse of the Bhagavad Gita is Arjuna's predicament of whether it is permissible to kill his own kin and Guru. Here, Sri Krishna makes the argument that it is more important to perform righteous deeds based on informed virtues, free from attachment or emotion. So-called "sin" cannot touch those who dedicate their actions to duty and their devotion to Brahma (thus being seated in the Absolute Truth), like a lotus leaf is untouched by water. The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita encourage informing the morality of an action with following the righteous path or duty of an individual, which in the case of abortion includes self-defense and least harm, and may include maternal choice.