Journal - International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine

Farouk MAHMOUD ISLAMIC MEDICAL ETHICS IN ASSISTED CONCEPTION
Indian sources into Arabic, directly or via Syriac and
the organisation and establishment of both civil and
army hospitals, mobile clinics and caravans, prison
medical services, hospices, medical schools. The
Muslims adopted an eclectic approach, choosing the
best and what was appropriate and compatible for
Islam and ignoring the rest. Thus evolved Islamic
medicine, a brand of medicine which was totally
acceptable to Islam and conforming to Islamic ethics.
Assisted Conception
An analysis of the assisted methods of conception in
practice today, shows that artificial insemination and
intra uterine insemination, utilising the husband’s sperm
poses no problem for Muslims. However, procurement
of the semen by masturbation and even worse, the use
of erotic films to facilitate the success of the procedure,
is repugnant to say the least and is frowned upon by
Islam. More recently, ‘male packs’ which utilise spermicide-free,
special condoms and coitus with the wife
to produce the sample, obviates this.
In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
In 1978, for the first time, the fallopian tubes were
by-passed in conception and in vitro fertilisation
became a reality; the egg was fertilised outside the
body (in vitro) and the resulting embryo was transferred
into the womb of the mother. In vitro fertilisation,
poses no special problems for Islam, as there no
infringements of Islamic principles. Though it
appears to contravene God’s design and interferes
with his plans for conception and creation, the scholars
have approved this on the grounds that the success
of these new technologies are only by the will
and barakah (grace) of Allah.
Foetal Reduction
As a consequence of transferring multiple
embryos, particularly in the U.S.A., triplets,
quadtriplets and higher-order multiple pregnancies
creates a problem of extreme prematurity and maternal
distress. Foetal reduction can by invasive means
under ultra sound, reduce the number to a single or
twin pregnancy. While Islam may sanction this for
saving the mother’s life, it should and could be avoided
by curtailing the number of eggs and more impor-
tantly, the number of embryos transferred to a maximum
of two.
Sperm Donation
Donation of sperms and sperm banks have been in
existence for a long time and creates an ethico-religious
problem, in that it brings in a third party into
the process of conception who contributes half the
genetic make-up. Fortunately, artificial insemination
with donor sperm has been relegated to the background
since the advent of intra cellular sperm injection
(ICSI) in 1992., the sperms could be aspirated or
extracted from the epididymis or testes and ICSI provides
fertilisation, even in cases of severe sperm
abnormality.
Ovum Donation
Infertility due to a failure to produce healthy eggs
remains a problem in anovulatory and older women,
premature menopause, fertilisation failure and in those
with recurrent miscarriages. Ovum donation gives
hope for these unfortunate couples. Islam however
prohibits the mixing of geneology and confusion of
family lineage and therefore ovum donation is unacceptable.
But in cases of polygamous marriages, could
one co-wife donate to the other; strictly speaking, there
is no mixing of genes outside the marriage, no confusion
of family lineage, the conception is still within the
marriage contract, albeit in a different sense, the mother
is the woman who nurtures and delivers the baby
and the father is the same; which are the reasons normally
given for its non-acceptance. This issue remains
unresolved; so does the issue of a Muslim woman
donating eggs to a non Muslim.
Embryo Donation
Embryo donation is necessary where the husband
has no sperms and the wife has no eggs, or where one
or other has no gametes and the available gamete is
fertilised by a donor sperm or egg, and the resulting
embryo is transferred into the womb of either the
wife or surrogate. This is prohibited because of mixing
of genes and family lineage. What then is the
position in a polygamous relationship? Can a co-wife
donate the egg, have it fertilised by the common husband
and the embryo transferred to the other wife,
40 JISHIM 2004, 3