SURROGACY AND ISLAM

Surrogacy is a method of assisted reproduction where intended parents work with a gestational surrogate who will carry and care for their baby(ies) until birth. Intended parents use surrogacy to start or grow their families when they can't do so on their own.

In gestational surrogacy, the child is not biologically related to the surrogate mother, who is often referred to as a gestational carrier. Instead, the embryo is created via in vitro fertilization (IVF), using the eggs and sperm of the intended parents or donors, and is then transferred to the surrogate.

Although Researchers concluded, “surrogacy pregnancy should be considered as a high-risk emotional experience because many surrogate mothers may face negative experiences.” Furthermore, surrogate moms face increased pregnancy risks that come with carrying multiple embryos, which are often used to ensure success.

Surrogacy is been practice all over the world and is not a new thing when one mentioned it, nothing surprise people upon hearing about it. 

ISLAM AND SURROGACY

What is the position of Islam on surrogacy? Does Islam allow reproduction through surrogacy? This write up made a narrow attempt to reveals Islamic position on the subject to clear air on some people's argument that surrogacy cannot be totally condemn.

ISLAM PERSPECTIVE

The Council of the Islamic Fiqh Academy holding its third session, in Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, from 8 to 13 Safar 1407H (October 11–16, 1986), declared that surrogacy (the fertilization taking place in-vitro between the sperm and the eggs taken from the spouses, and then the fertilized ovum being implanted into the womb of a volunteer woman)  is Islamically forbidden and absolutely prohibited due to the consequences of the lineage confusion and loss of motherhood.

Another Islamic concept that is to be considered is the clear identification of mothers as those who give birth to their children as stated in the Quran.

"None can be their mothers except those who gave them birth"

So, a surrogate mother may claim to be the real mother even though she bears the egg of another woman in her womb. She may have a marriage bond in case she is a second wife to the embryo’s father, but she does not have any genetic relation to the child in this case. So, how could she claim to be the real mother? Similarly, how could the ovum donor have claim over the child even though she did not bear the child or give birth to the child as mentioned in the Qur’ān?

Some Muslims argue for the permissibility of surrogacy in Islam by resorting to qiyas. However, rulings based on qiyas could be unreliable because the current issues of medicine are drastically different in nature and context to be analogous. They suggest that surrogate motherhood could be considered analogous to foster motherhood. Is this analogy be justified?

It is true that Muslims can transfer their child to a wet nurse to be breast fed by her and she will be a foster mother of the child by virtue of suckling. In the case of gestational surrogacy, the sperm and ovum of a legally married couple is fertilized in vitro and the embryo is replaced in the womb of the surrogate either on a volunteer or on a commercial basis. The woman who provided the ovum may be considered the real mother because the child will have genetic link with her and the woman who carries the fetus in her womb and gives birth to it would be considered a foster mother. But this is a faulty analogy. In the first place the wet nurse does not have any relationship with the father of child of whose she is a wet nurse. But in a surrogacy contract, either the woman is artificially impregnated with the sperm of the father of the child or the embryo is produced by the father’s sperm and then placed in her womb to carry it up to term and give birth to it.

Further, the wet nurse feeds the child only up to a certain period and does not have any biological relationship with him.

Islamic ethics strictly advises to form the family solely on the basis of biological ties. Islam condemns surrogacy because the child will be deprived of information about his lineage and may result, unknowingly, in half-sibling marriage which is a dangerous consequence for a society.

AHMAD M SALIHU

ahmad.msalihu22@gmail.com