Islam, Assisted Reproduction, and the Bioethical Aftermath

Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), including in vitro fertilization to overcome infertility, are now widely available across the Middle East. Islamic fatwas emerging from the Sunni Islamic countries have permitted many ARTs, while prohibiting others. However, recent religious rulings emanati...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion and health
Authors: Inhorn, Marcia C. 1957- (Author) ; Tremayne, Soraya (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V. [2016]
In: Journal of religion and health
Further subjects:B Assisted Reproduction
B Shia
B Third-party reproductive assistance
B egg donation
B sperm donation
B Sunni
B Lebanon
B Islam
B Fetal reduction
B Iran
B Islamic bioethics
B sex selection
B assisted reproductive technologies
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), including in vitro fertilization to overcome infertility, are now widely available across the Middle East. Islamic fatwas emerging from the Sunni Islamic countries have permitted many ARTs, while prohibiting others. However, recent religious rulings emanating from Shia Muslim-dominant Iran have created unique avenues for infertile Muslim couples to obtain donor gametes through third-party reproductive assistance. The opening of Iran to gamete donation has had major impacts in Shia-dominant Lebanon and has led to so-called reproductive tourism of Sunni Muslim couples who are searching for donor gametes across national and international borders. This paper explores the “bioethical aftermath” of donor technologies in the Muslim Middle East. Other unexpected outcomes include new forms of sex selection and fetal “reduction.” In general, assisted reproduction in the Muslim world has been a key site for understanding how emerging biomedical technologies are generating new Islamic bioethical discourses and local moral responses, as ARTs are used in novel and unexpected ways.
ISSN:1573-6571
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religion and health
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10943-015-0151-1