🌟 Interfering with creation
If life is God's gift and begins at conception, ending a pregnancy means interfering with God's creation and the divine spark in the unborn child.
Sikh Beliefs about Life and Death » Sanctity of Life and Abortion: Sikh Views
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, 2.3 (Sikhism)
- Why Sikhs see life as a gift from God that begins at conception
- Why Sikhs are generally against abortion, and why there is no formal ruling
- Why some Sikhs accept abortion in some cases, and how conscience fits in
- The Sikh ban on killing baby girls, and the difference between teaching and practice
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Unlock This CourseLife as God's gift
In The Sanctity of Life and Abortion you met the idea that many people see life as sacred, and you saw the different views on when life begins. This lesson looks at what Sikhs believe about it.
Key terms:
- Conscience (recap from Do Humans Have a Soul? Human Nature and Physicalism): a person's own inner sense of right and wrong, used to make a decision.
- Rehat Maryada: the Sikh code of conduct, which sets out how Sikhs should live and what they should avoid.
- Sex-selective abortion: ending a pregnancy because the baby is the "wrong" sex, in practice usually because it is a girl.
Sikhs believe that life is a gift from God, the Creator (karta purakh). Most Sikhs teach that a new life begins at conception, so the unborn child is already a human life that God has made. They believe every person carries the divine spark, the jot of God, and this is what makes each life precious.
Sikhs also teach that birth and death both happen within God's hukam, God's will or order. A life is not an accident. It begins and ends as part of God's plan, and humans are not in charge of it. That is why Sikhs say life should be respected from its very start.
Sikh attitudes to abortion
Sikhs are generally against abortion. Their main reasons are:
🙏 Trusting God's hukam
If birth happens within God's hukam, humans should not decide that a life must not be born.
Sikhs also teach that a human life is a rare chance to get closer to God (see Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Sikhism). Ending a pregnancy takes that chance away from the unborn child.
No formal ruling: different views
There is no formal Sikh ruling on abortion, and no single leader who decides for all Sikhs. This means Sikhs hold different views, even though most are against abortion.
❌ Opposed in almost every case
Some Sikhs say abortion is wrong because it ends a life that God has made. They believe the baby should be born, even if the pregnancy is difficult.
🤝 Accepted in hard cases
Many Sikhs accept abortion where the mother's life is at risk, or where the pregnancy is the result of rape. They say Sikhism teaches compassion for the mother, whose life is also God's gift.
Because there is no formal ruling, the decision is often left to the person's conscience. A Sikh woman, with her family, is expected to think seriously about what she believes God wants, and not to make the choice lightly. Sikhs would say that abortion should never be chosen just for convenience.
Killing baby girls
There is one situation where Sikh teaching is very clear. The Rehat Maryada forbids killing baby girls. The Gurus taught that women and men are equal in the eyes of God, so a girl's life is just as precious as a boy's.
This is why the Sikh community opposes sex-selective abortion. Ending a pregnancy because the baby is a girl goes against both the sanctity of life and the Sikh teaching on the worth of women. (Sikh teaching on equality is studied in Equal Rights and Opportunities in Sikhism.)
Teaching and practice
What Sikhs are taught and what Sikhs do are not always the same. Sikh teaching is against ending a life that God has created, and against choosing to end the life of a girl. Yet in some families there has been pressure on women because of a wish for a son. Sikh leaders say this goes against the faith. This shows how a person's choice can be affected by family and society, as well as by religious teaching.
Common mistakes
- Saying Sikhism has a strict ban on all abortions. There is no formal ruling, so views differ.
- Saying all Sikhs think the same. Many accept abortion if the mother's life is at risk or after rape.
- Writing "abortion is wrong" without a reason such as God's gift, the divine spark or hukam.
- Forgetting the Sikh ban on killing baby girls, which is clear and specific.
Exam-style question
Paper 1 (a) [3 marks, AO1]: Identify three terms or ideas that Sikhs use when explaining their attitude to abortion.
Model answer
1. Hukam (1) 2. Jot, the divine spark (1) 3. Conscience (1)
Paper 1 (b) [4 marks, AO1]: Choose one religion. Outline two reasons why this religion is against abortion.
Model answer
In Sikhism, life is a gift from God (1), so ending a pregnancy interferes with God's creation (1). Sikhs also believe birth happens within God's hukam (1), so humans should not decide that a life must not be born (1).
Paper 1 (c) [6 marks, AO1 and AO2]: Choose one religion. Explain why there are different attitudes to abortion in this religion.
Model answer
Most Sikhs are against abortion because they believe life begins at conception and every person has the divine spark, so abortion interferes with God's creation. However, there are different attitudes because Sikhism has no formal ruling on abortion. Some Sikhs think it is wrong in almost every case, as the child is a gift from God and birth happens within hukam. Others accept it where the mother's life is at risk or after rape, because Sikhs teach compassion and the mother's life is also God's gift. The decision is often left to conscience, so Sikhs can reach different conclusions. Sikhs are all against abortion chosen because the baby is a girl, because the Rehat Maryada forbids killing baby girls.
Paper 1 (d) [12 marks, AO1 and AO2]: "Abortion is never right." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion.
Plan for (d)
For: Sikhs believe life is a gift from God and begins at conception; the unborn child has the divine spark; birth is within hukam, so humans should not interfere; abortion because the baby is a girl goes against the Rehat Maryada.
Against: there is no formal Sikh ruling, and many Sikhs accept abortion when the mother's life is at risk or after rape; conscience allows for compassion for the mother; pro-choice and humanist views say the woman has the right to decide.
Possible conclusion: Sikh teaching gives strong reasons against abortion, but because there is no formal ruling and compassion matters, "never" is too strong for many Sikhs.
Exam tip
In a "different attitudes" question, give at least two contrasting Sikh views and explain why each exists, using terms such as hukam, jot and conscience.