BIOETHICS

Contraception
Abortion
IVF
Surrogacy
Genetic Engineering
Stem Cell Research
Organ transplants
Euthanasia

Bioethics is the study of ethical

issues arising from human
involvement with life

Bioethical Questions
When does life begin?
What constitutes death?
Who is the mother of a child
produced by surrogacy?
Can parents select the sex of their
child?
Should a smoker receive a new
organ?
What about genetic engineering?

Bioethical
considerations
the emphasis is always on
prevention
the patient must be treated with
respect and compassion at all
times
the physical, mental and spiritual
dimensions of the illness
experience must be taken into
account.

Islamic Code of
Medical
Ethics 1981
Life is sacred: every moment of
life has great value, even if it is
poor quality. The saving of life is a
duty, and the unwarranted taking
of life is a grave sin.

The physician understands that

they have a duty to try to heal and
acknowledges God as the ultimate
healer.

Islamic bioethics teaches that the

patient must be treated with
respect and compassion and that
the physical, mental and spiritual
dimensions must be taken into
account.

FAMILY PLANNING
Contraception
Al Ghazali (12th c.) contraception
was permissible if performed to
preserve a womans health or save
a life, to avoid financial hardship or
to avoid domestic problems caused
by a large family
It is never permissible to avoid the
birth of a female child.

Some believe that contraception

for the fear of poverty represents a
lack of trust in Gods promise that
every child born will be provided
for by divine providence.

al-Ghazali - c. 1058-1111 in Ihya Ulum-id-Din

Abortion is a crime against an existing being. Existence has
stages. The first stages of existence are the settling of the
semen in the womb and its mixing with the secretions of the
woman. It is then ready to receive life. Disturbing it is a
crime. When it develops further and becomes a lump,
aborting it is a greater crime. When it acquires a soul and its
creation is completed, the crime become more grievous. The
crime reaches a maximum seriousness when it is committed
after it (foetus) is separated (from the mother) alive.

ABORTION
There are different Islamic views on
abortion.
some ban it completely eg in
Indonesia
others up to the time of ensoulment
120 days of pregnancy
some up to 40 days, others 80 days

Social or financial reasons do not provide

reason for an abortion.
Sura 17:31 Do not kill your children out
of fear of poverty; we shall provide for
them and for you. Truly the killing of
them is a great sin.
This is interpreted to apply to unborn
children as well.

In all cases one must weigh up

sympathies for the patient and
sympathies for the unborn foetus
The question is, how are these
sympathies to be harmonised
Coming to a decision requires a
combination of principles, duties
and rights, accompanied by a call
to virtue.

both revelation and tradition form

the basis of Islams ethical
framework
Muslim scholars believe that this
gives Islam the flexibility to
respond to new biomedical
technologies.

Schools of Jurisprudence
The fours schools within Sunni
Islam:
The Hanafi
The Maliki
The Shafii
The Hanbali

Shia Muslims have developed

their own interpretations based on
their own systems, methodologies
and authority
Their decisions are very similar to
Sunnis.

Those who make the final ethical

pronouncements are scholars of
religious law who will declare
something forbidden (haram),
discouraged, neutral,
recommended or obligatory.

Inevitably there will be a diversity

of views which arise from the
different schools of jurisprudence,
sects, cultural backgrounds and
different levels of religious
observance.

Differing views include:

The sin of abortion before 120 days is
not as bad as after 120 days which is
regarded as murder of a human being.
(Maliki, some Shafii and Hanbali and
Shia)
ie it is never permissible after 120 days.
Some Hanafi jurists go so far as to say it
is not permissible even if the mothers
life is at risk.

IVF
There is no objection to the
insemination of a wife with her
husbands sperm, but donor sperm
is tantamount to adultery.

SURROGACY
Reasons for condemnation:
it tampers with the normal process
of procreation
biologically it divides motherhood
and confuses the issue of who is
the mother
when reduced to a price it is
exploitation.

EUTHANASIA and
END of LIFE
ISSUES
Life and death are exclusively in
Gods hands.
Humans have no right to
intervene.

SUICIDE
The Quran says: not to kill yourself;
indeed, God is merciful to you (Sura
4:29)
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:
In the time before you a man was
wounded. His wounds troubled him so
much that he took a knife and cut his
writs and bled to death. Thereupon God
said: My servant hurried in the matter of
his life. Therefore he is deprived of the
Garden (Hadith: Bukhari 8:603)

Therefore suicide is not permissible

it destroys what does not belong
to that person
and the community (Umma) has
failed in its responsibility to meet
the needs of that person.
remember - keeping of an
optimistic attitude is a duty
nor may anyone assist them.

EUTHANASIA
Questions:
When can care ethically be terminated?
What is the difference between removing
life support and prolonging life?
What constitutes death - brain death or
the cessation of heart and respiration?
When can organs be removed for
transplant?

Only God can decide on time of

death: Nor can a person die
except by Gods leave, the term
being fixed as by waiting (Sura
3:145)

SUFFERING
Suffering should be eased, but this
time is regarded as a time of
spiritual growth for the person
concerned and the people around
them.

SUSPENSION OF
MEDICAL TREATMENT
The physician can stop medication
for the sake of the patients
comfort and the relief of their
family

ORGAN DONATION
If a person has been pronounced
brain dead then switching off life
support may be permissible.
This may only take place after
consultation and only if the
machine is considered of no
further use to the patient.