Moral Ethics and

Contemporary
Medical Issues
Contraception and
Birth Control
 Celibacy and Monastery
• Celibacy means abstinence from sexual
intercourse, especially by reason of religious
vows.
• Monastery means a community of persons,
especially monks, bound by vows to a religious
life and often living in partial or complete
seclusion.
 Contraception/Birth control
• Contraception is an intentional prevention of
impregnation through the use of various
devices, agents, drugs, sexual practices, or
surgical procedures.
• Birth control is a regimen of one or more
actions, devices, sexual practices, or
medications followed in order to deliberately
prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or
childbirth.
 Contraception/ birth control
There are mainly three routes to preventing or
ending pregnancy:
a. the prevention of fertilization of the ovum by
sperm cells contraception,
b. the prevention of implantation of the
blastocyst contragestion.
c. and the chemical or surgical induction of
abortion of the developing embryo or, later,
foetus.
In common usage, term contraception is often
used for both contraception and contragestion.
 Cont…..
• the purpose of contraception is to control the
timing of births with the intent of distancing the
occurrences of pregnancy or to delay it for a
specific amount of time for different reasons.

• - Islam encourages people to have children. It

is reported that the Prophet (saw) said:
• "‫ ك تاب‬:‫َت َز َّو ُجوا ا ْلَودُودَ ا ْلَولُو َد َف إِ ِّن ي ُم َكاث ٌِر ِب ُك ُم ا أْل ُ َم َم " (أب و داود‬
)‫ا لنكاح‬
• “Marry women who are loving and fertile (child-
bearing), for I shall outnumber the peoples by
you.”
 Cont…..
• Celibacy and monasticism are against the principles of
Islam brought forth by the Prophet (saw).

• The prophet (saw) made this clear when he told those

companions who were considering ascetic forms of
life: “I pray and I sleep; I fast and I break my fast; and I
marry women. Whoever turns away from my way of
life is not from me." ‫ص َّلىهَّللا َع َل ْي ِه‬ َ ‫ص َح ِابا َّلن ِب ِّي‬ ْ َ‫مِن أ‬
ْ ‫س أَ َّن َن َف ًرا‬ َ َ
ٍ ‫َع ْن أ‬
‫ن‬
‫ َف َقا َل‬،‫س ِّر‬ ِّ ‫س َّل َم َع ْن َع َملِ ِه فِ يا ل‬ َ ‫ص َّلىهَّللا َعلَ ْي ِه َو‬ َ ‫اج ا َّلن ِب ِّي‬َ ‫س أ َ ُلوا أَ ْز َو‬ َ ‫س َّل َم‬َ ‫َو‬
ُ ‫ض ُه ْم ال أَ َن‬
‫ام‬ ُ ‫ض ُه ْم ال آ ُك ُل ا َّل ْح َم َو َقا َل َب ْع‬ ُ ‫اء َو َقا َل َب ْع‬ َ ‫س‬ َ ‫ ال أَ َت َز َّو ُج ا ِّلن‬: ‫ض ُه ْم‬ُ ‫َب ْع‬
!‫"م ا َب ا ُلأَ ْق َو ٍام َق ا ُلوا َك َذا َو َك َذا‬ َ :‫اش َف َحمِدَ هَّللا َ َوأَ ْث َن ى َعلَ ْي ِه َف َقا َل‬ ٍ ‫َع َل ىفِ َر‬
‫س‬ َ ‫س َّنتِي َف َل ْي‬ ُ ‫اء َف َم ْن َر ِغ َب َع ْن‬ َ ‫س‬ ُ ‫وم َوأ ُ ْفطِ ُر َوأَ َت َز َّو‬
َ ‫ج ا ِّلن‬ ُ ‫ص‬ ُ َ‫ام َوأ‬ُ ‫ص ِّلي َوأَ َن‬
َ ُ ‫َل ِك ِّن يأ‬
)‫ ك تابا لنكاح‬:‫مِ ِّني" (مسلم‬.
 Cont….
- Children are considered as blessing from Allah (swt).
- The only true provider for all mankind is Allah,
therefore shortage of wealth is not enough justification
for contraception.
- The permissibility of contraception is based on the fact
that it was practised during the time of the Prophet
(saw) while the Qur’an was being revealed but neither
the Qur’an nor the Prophet (saw) prohibited it.
• Jabir reported: “We used to practise 'azl (withdrawing
the male sexual organ before emission of semen to
avoid conception) during the lifetime of Allah's
Messenger (saw). The news of this practice reached
Allah's Apostle (saw), and he did not forbid us.”
 Conclusion
• contraception (contraceptive devices) if they opt for it
provided that this would not involve pregnancy
termination.
• Conditions:
• - Contraception should not be made as a general
policy of a Muslim community as it may be exploited
by anti-Muslims to affect Muslim communities and turn
them to minorities.
• - Contraception should not be imposed on anyone by
anyone, as it is the absolute right of everyone to have
children.
• - Contraception should be practised only with the
consent of both sides: husband and wife.
 Surgical contraception (sterilization)
• This method of contraception is done through removing or
blocking sex organs.
• - Vasectomy is a surgical procedure leading to the sterilization
of man. It is a procedure that involves cutting, tying and sealing
both the tubes running sperm from testicles to the urethra and
penis. It is a way to prevent ejaculation permanently.
• - For women, oviducts (tubes that run eggs) are surgically cut
and sealed, preventing an egg from reaching the womb or from
even coming in contact with sperm but allowing ovulation to
continue. It is also a way to prevent pregnancy permanently for
women.
• - Sterilization (permanent prevention of pregnancy) is not lawful
in Islam. It is against one of the main objectives of creating the
two different sexes; that is to have children and cause the
continuation of human race.
 In vitro fertilization/ IVF (test tube babies)
• This is a method of assisted reproduction in
which the man’s sperm and woman’s egg are
taken and then combined in a laboratory dish,
where fertilization occurs. The resulting pre-
embryo is then transferred to the woman’s
uterus.
• The success rate of this method of reproduction
is between 15-25%.
• This practice is lawful only when it involves a
married couple while the marriage contract is
still valid and necessary measures are taken to
prevent any manipulation of this practice to
avoid any lineage confusion.
 Artificial insemination
• If the sperm of the legal husband in a continuing marital life is
used in the artificial insemination, that will be permitted. But if
the sperm used is from a third party or one who is not a legal
husband or from the husband but after his death, it will be
prohibited.

• Foetal gender selection

• Foetal gender selection is a process to choose the desired
gender of a child before the sperm fuses with the egg.
• This process is followed for different reasons: to avoid gender-
linked genetic diseases, desire for a specific gender of children.
• The method of this technique is done through selecting the X
bearing (girl) or Y bearing (boy) specimens. Then the woman is
artificially inseminated with that sperm, or the egg is fertilized
outside of the womb and then implanted into the womb.
 Conclusion
• The Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences in its seminar on
Reproduction in Islam came with a decision that:
• - Foetal gender selection is unlawful when it is practised on a
national level.
• - When it is practised on an individual level, the participants
differed on it:
• 1- Some of them are of the opinion that there is nothing legally
wrong with an attempt to fulfill the wishes of a married couple to
have a boy or a girl.
• 2- Some of them believe that it is unlawful for fear that it may
lead to one sex outnumber the other.
• - In fact, this is not the only objection against it. Another
objection is, since the success rate of this process is between
60-80%, what will happen if the wish of the couple is not met
and the foetus turns to be not of the desired gender? Will it be
aborted?
• There is fear that this may lead to committing abortion which is
forbidden.
SURROGATE MOTHER
Definition: A woman who bears a
child for another person, often for
pay, either through artificial
insemination or by carrying until
birth another woman's surgically
implanted fertilized egg.
 Forms of surrogate motherhood
• This occurs in many forms as follows:
• 1- The sperm and the egg are taken respectively from a
legitimate husband and wife. The egg fertilized and then
implanted in the womb of another woman who is not the wife of
that man.
• 2- The sperm is taken from the legitimate husband but the egg
is taken from another woman who is not his legal wife. The egg
is fertilized and then implanted in the womb of his legal wife.
• 3- The sperm is taken from the legitimate husband but the egg
is taken from another woman who is not his legal wife. The egg
is fertilized and then implanted in the womb of the same woman
from whom the egg was taken.
• 4- The sperm is taken from the legitimate husband but the egg
is taken from another woman who is not his legal wife. The egg
is fertilized and then implanted in the womb of a third woman.
 Cont….
• These four forms are haram because in each case a third party
who is not a legitimate wife is involved.

• 5- The sperm is taken from a husband who have more than one
wife. The egg is taken from one wife. After fertilizing the egg the
pre-embryo is implanted in the womb of the second wife.

• Regarding this case, most of Muslim scholars believe it is

unlawful also. Although the sperm is not strange to the womb
since it is the womb of his second wife, but the egg is a
stranger because it is from another woman.
• Another objection is that the woman who is bearing the embryo
may conceive from her husband using her own egg whereas
the embryo implanted may fail to develop and this may lead to
confusion: to whom the foetus belongs?
Islam and the Issue of surrogacy
in parenthood
 Surrogate motherhood and
fatherhood is forbidden in Islam
because it involves a person who is
not tied to the surrogate mother or
father with legitimate marital
relationship.
 Cont…
A. Family and blood ties marriage is not just a
financial and physical arrangement of living
together but it is a sacred contract to enjoy
each other physically and psychologically and
continue the lineage.
B. Any interference to violate the contract of
marriage by introducing any third party (male
or female) by a normal way or a biomedical
technique is violation of Islamic law. Thus, it is
forbidden.
 Cont….
C. Marital life is limited to its legitimate parties.
Any practice that may involve any third party
(either a man or a woman) in any form (whether
in the form of semen, an ovum, an embryo, or a
womb) is unlawful.
D. Blood relationship is the fundamental basis
of marriage and inheritance in Islam. Any
practice that may undermine the family ties or
create lineage confusion is forbidden.