Home > Family > Belgium > 2010-09-21 - Court of appeal of Brussels, n. 14675
2010-09-21 - Court of appeal of Brussels, n. 14675
Islamic rules on abortion cannot be opposed on its own initiative by an hospital to a Belgian Muslim woman
Key facts of the case - In a case of wrongful birth, a Muslim woman complained that the hospital did not warn her of the serious illness of the fetus. The hospital defended itself by arguing that the disease was found after the deadline prescribed by Islam for abortion and that, for that reason, it remained silent.
Main reasoning of the court - The court decides that it is irrelevant to consider what would have been the consequences of a late decision of abortion according to Islamic law, because of the Belgian nationality of the woman and her husband and the Belgian location of the hospital.