Abortion in the Muslim World

McQ at Q and O is linking to this story in the International Herald Tribune. It is an interesting profile of abortion and illegitimacy in the Muslim world.

The standard three-step program for any unmarried, upper-class Egyptian girl who gets pregnant is an abortion, an operation to refurbish her virginity with a new hymen and then marriage to the first unwitting suitor the family can snare.

But Hind el-Hinnawy, a vivacious 27-year-old costume designer, did the unthinkable here: She had the child and then filed a public paternity suit, igniting an unprecedented scandal and prompting a national debate over the clandestine marriage contracts that young couples are using to have sex in this conservative, religious society.

It is well worth a read. The cultural contrasts in sexual relationships, marriage, abortion, and family honor are very interesting to me.