Islamic jurisprudence on teproductive technology: a methodological appraisal
Ever since the birth of Louise Brown in the UK, 1978, via in vitro fertilization, and the success story of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in Belgium in 1992 (Inhorn, n.d.) , biomedical technologies have made great strides in assisting not only the infertile couples but even gays and lesb...
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| Format: | Book Chapter |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2014
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/34382/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/34382/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/34382/1/34382.pdf |
| Summary: | Ever since the birth of Louise Brown in the UK, 1978, via in vitro fertilization, and
the success story of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in Belgium in 1992
(Inhorn, n.d.) , biomedical technologies have made great strides in assisting not only
the infertile couples but even gays and lesbians to have children. Societal responses
to this technological advancement by and large have been one of radical support and
cautious acceptance. For instance, Western feminists celebrated it as “freeing the
Western civilization from the prejudice of morality” (p. 119); Christian Theologies
received it with mixed reaction due to a host of moral hazards that it entails for
integrity of family and lineage clarity. In the Muslim world, Shi’ah gave it a blanket
approval, but the Sunni jurists received it with some caveat. The divergent legal
scenario, at microlevel, proves attractive for common Muslims due to a number of
anthropological variables such as fulfi llment of a barren male fervent desire for
children as a proof of his virility, bringing pride to an infertile wife for proving as
reproductive, making polygamy redundant in the case of profoundly in love monogamous
couples, etc. (p. 120). At the macro level, however, the dilemma is one of
striking a balance between pragmatic consideration of overcoming the problem of
infertility and the core principles of sexual purity and lineage clarity within the
paradigmatic framework of Muslim family law. Accordingly, this paper proposes to
critically review Muslim juridical responses with the purpose of proposing some
methodological points for further deliberations. |
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