Ruling on aborting a fetus due to deformity or mental retardation

Question:
The diagnosis of certain fetal conditions is made for the pregnant woman, and this occurs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth months. These diseases generally have an impact on the patient, such as mental retardation or physical retardation. Is it permissible to perform an abortion in these months, taking into account the consequences the child may face in society due to retardation or chronic illness? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good, because this situation confuses the doctors.

Answer:
This matter was studied by the Council of Senior Scholars, and they issued a decision regarding it, of which we will give the director a copy, if Allah wills. Its summary is:
If the harm is to the child, then it is not permissible to abort it once it has been formed or the soul has been breathed into it. However, if the harm is to her, if there is danger to her herself—the woman—if it is left, there is danger to her from it, and danger means death, then it is aborted, even if it is in the sixth, seventh, or eighth month, if the danger is to her. If she remains, she will perish, then it is aborted.
As for if there is no danger to her, then it is not aborted, because it is a type of killing, so it is left until she gives birth. Once she gives birth, the matter is up to Allah: if it is healthy, praise be to Allah, and if it is deformed, then indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we return, and it is not permissible to kill it. As for if it is before four months, then if there is harm to her—clear harm—it is permissible to abort it, and if there is no clear harm to her, it is left.