Theos-Talk Archives (September 1995 Message tl00715)

My view: It would seem that abortion is murder, whatever may be the age of
the fetus. It may be the karma of the incoming soul (manas) to lose the
vehicle INTO WHICH IT HAS NOT YET INCARNATED, but it is not justifiable to
bring on that karma. It is never right to cause pain or suffering to another
being, least of all out of self-interest.

We might as well say it is okay for various dictators to exterminate parts of
their populations -- it must be the karma of the natives to be exterminated!
 No, rather, it may be their karma to be born under an evil dictator, but it
does not mean it is right for the dictator to produce such suffering.

We are always responsible for our own actions, and we cannot justify our
actions with the thought that it must be others' karma which makes us do
them. The karma of others is THEIR business, our dharma (duty) is OUR
business, and we must try to do good and help nature and protect helpless
beings whenever we can.

HPB's view: In her article "Is Foeticide a Crime?" HPB indicates that
abortion "shortens [the mother's] life on earth to prolong it with dreary
percentage in Kama-loka." She goes on, "The crime committed lies precisely
in the willful and sinful destruction of life, and interference with the
operations of nature, hence -- with KARMA -- that of the mother and the
would-be future human being." HPB also mentions that there is no more of
spirit or soul in a fetus or a small child than there is "in any other small
animal," and that the soul (manas) does not settle in until the child reaches
self-consciousness [which for most people seems to be about age 7, we read
elsewhere].