Is expiation obligatory upon a woman who took medication to induce abortion in the early stages of her pregnancy, then repented and completed her pregnancy, but the fetus later miscarried due to the hardship of travel, with no certainty as to the cause of the miscarriage?

First: Abortion before the ensoulment, especially before forty days, is a point of contention among jurists. Some permit it without a reason, while others stipulate a valid excuse. If a woman aborts a fetus after forty days without a valid excuse, she is sinful and must repent.

Second: If the fetus lived for five months after the medication was taken and then miscarried, the mother is originally absolved of responsibility, unless two trustworthy doctors determine that its miscarriage was due to the medication. In that case, she is obligated to pay expiation (kaffarah) and blood money (diyyah), which is a 'ghurrah' (a female slave or a sum equivalent to five camels), because she caused the miscarriage by her action. The mother does not inherit anything from the blood money because a killer does not inherit from the killed.