diff --git a/src/core/abort.h b/src/core/abort.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..306058df3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/abort.h
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2008 INRIA
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation;
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+ *
+ */
+#ifndef NS3_ABORT_H
+#define NS3_ABORT_H
+
+#include "fatal-error.h"
+
+#define NS_ABORT_IF(cond)					\
+  do {								\
+    if (cond)							\
+      {								\
+	std::cerr << "file=" << __FILE__ <<			\
+	  ", line=" << __LINE__ << ", abort on=\""#cond <<	\
+            "\"" << std::endl;                                  \
+	int *a = 0;						\
+	*a = 0;							\
+      }								\
+  } while (false)
+
+#define NS_ABORT_MSG_IF(cond, msg)				\
+  do {								\
+    if (cond)							\
+      {								\
+	std::cerr << "file=" << __FILE__ <<			\
+	  ", line=" << __LINE__ << ", abort on=\""#cond <<	\
+	  "\", msg=\"" << msg << "\"" << std::endl;		\
+	int *a = 0;						\
+	*a = 0;							\
+      }								\
+  } while (false)
+
+#define NS_ABORT_UNLESS(cond)				\
+  NS_ABORT_IF(!(cond))
+
+#define NS_ABORT_MSG_UNLESS(cond, msg)			\
+  NS_ABORT_MSG_IF(!(cond),msg)
+
+#endif /* NS3_ABORT_H */
diff --git a/src/core/wscript b/src/core/wscript
index de13762a6..586b0ee95 100644
--- a/src/core/wscript
+++ b/src/core/wscript
@@ -116,7 +116,8 @@ def build(bld):
         'trace-source-accessor.h',
         'config.h',
         'object-vector.h',
-        'deprecated.h'
+        'deprecated.h',
+        'abort.h',
         ]
 
     if sys.platform == 'win32':