Earlier this month, tragic news from Texas brought the abortion debate into sharp focus. According to a media report, a pregnant woman died because medical staff delayed care due to fear of legal repercussions under the state's strict abortion laws. Such stories underline the life-threatening consequences of restricting reproductive rights.

Vice President Kamala Harris made abortion rights the heart of her campaign, but President-elect Donald Trump first waffled on his positions on abortion but towards the end of his campaign he finally admitted he would "not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances." But the abortion rights activist fear Trump might do the opposite. America may become intolerant to unwanted pregnancies. It may become a place where coming out of the closest could be looked down upon.

In any case, across the US, 41 states now enforce abortion bans, many with minor exceptions. Thirteen of these have outright bans, leaving women with few options even in cases of severe health risks.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, countries like Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia enforce equally harsh abortion restrictions, rooted in religious principles. In Iran, the Youthful Population and Protection of the Family Law, introduced in 2021, has made obtaining an abortion even harder, emphasising state control over women's reproductive choices.

What ties these regions together is a shared ideological conservatism-one that prioritises the moral sanctity of foetal life over women's autonomy. In both conservative US states and Islamic fundamentalist societies, the convergence of politics, religion, and societal norms has turned women's health into a battleground.

I am writing these lines from a liberal man's perspective but I often hear in my Muslim friends and families' circles strong arguments in support of abortion bans.

The idea here is to show that the two sides might be sworn enemies, almost incapable of seeing eye to eye, but quite interestingly they speak the same ideological language and practise the same dogma. Whether it's on religion or abortion or whether it's on the role of women and their collective disdain for gay people. It's hard to believe how much they have in common-until you remember they can't stand each other. I'm........

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