Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Counselling Muslim women before abortion

Dr. Abdul Majid Katme gave a workshop on counselling Muslim women about abortion
International Hope Alive Counselling Association, Baku, Azerbaijan
Oct. 9, 2013

The greatest concern for me is when I get a call in the night that a young girl is pregnant out of marriage.  This muslim girl’s life is ruined if she has a child out of marriage.  In some weird sects they would even kill the woman.  She is encouraged to have an abortion and I can’t say that but I understand the stigma she is facing if she keeps the child.
Gender issue is rising as a scandal in Britain, aborting the girls. It’s illegal by law but the decision by the court. There is a new legalization to allow women to abort according to gender.  This is a big problem in India, China and in Britain. This  happens with Muslims.  
A woman, to go to counsellor, is afraid to tell anyone.  Its very difficult counselling Muslim women on ‘sex’.  To open up and tell you what happened , the reason she’s pregnant, is a blocked door.  You can’t know the story. Some will open the door but many won’t.  In medical practice it’s male to male and female to female.  That’s the same psychologically.  In Britain they’re developping single sex wards.
Obviously the woman in this state is contemplating abortion - sometimes just because of the thought of the cost of another child - but our holy book says that there will be help.
I am grateful for my christian friends who stand outside abortion clinics and that might be the first time they consider anything other than abortion.  I’m called and I talk to the husband or husband and wife.  They may not known that abortion is prohibitted in islam.  They don’t know how barbaric the abortion is.  Almost all of the islamic patients lack information about the embryo or fetus or baby. They need the information.  Some don’t want to know - they say I’ll be killed - do you want my family to kill me - one has to explain from medical perspective, then the scriptural, and then I tell them about the forgiving - God will be forgiving.  I give them the information, islamic scripture, the photos of the baby, tell them the complications, the suffering.  They mostly have zero knowledge and now they know.  
The one who listens to me religiously is the one who wears habjab.  The religious woman is modest and prayers five times a day. This means hopefully she’ll listen to the holy scriptures. 
The other problems are language. The Bangladeshi, Pakistani need translator.  

SPUC - Society for Protection of Unborn Children - we have a pamphlet with different languages.
http://www.spuc.org.uk
If a young unmarried couple has a pregnancy before marriage we encourage them to marry.

It’s very important, Don’t Be Judgemental.  You’re going to help.  

Confidentiality - if a muslim woman is going to open up she needs to be 100% certain that you are not going to share with family or community. It’s the same with HIV, Aids, STD’s - they don’t go to doctors.  

It’s important to explain, give them information.  We have to give all the information on abortion and complications. Give them literature ideally.  Muslim women don’t have counsellors.  It’s important that we have Muslim women receive counselling before an abortion.

We sometimes give the aid, financial support.

We ask them not to kill the child and we follow up after the communications initially.
6000 babies are killed each day Britain.
 http://www.prolifemuslims.com

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