I believe in the Quran, so if the Quran specifically forbids something, then i won't argue against it. But that smoking for example. The Quran didn't forbid it specifically (since maybe back then people don't smoke) but there is a "general" verse which states that anything that is DANGEROUS to the health is forbidden, hence the idea that smoking is forbidden. I can't quote the verse since i don't really remember. Then again, since in Malaysia a lot of people smoke, they don't make it A SUPER BIG DEAL that it's HARAM but they make it a super big deal for women who don't dress like a Muslim and couples who do immoral activities. H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y.
What is a surrogate mother? Dictionary.com says :
a woman who helps a couple to have a child by carrying to term an embryo conceived by the couple and transferred to her uterus, or by being inseminated with the man's sperm and either donating the embryo for transfer to the woman's uterus or carrying it to term.
So today, i came across an article in News Straits Times titled "Islam Forbids Surrogacy". This is the site :
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles//14surr/Article/
Why? According to Ustaz Mat Jais Kamos of Selangor Islamic affairs officer, and i quote him as the newspaper quote him, "if a woman delivers the baby of another woman, who can be considered the mother? there will be a problem determining the rightful mother according to Islam". He also states that "creation of a child should not involve a third party".
There can be 2 kinds of surrogate mother (this is what i know of surrogacy anyway) :
1. The husband's sperm and wife's egg are used but fertilized outside of the womb (in vitro fertilisation). Then later the embryo will be inserted into another woman's womb because the wife's womb isn't strong enough to carry a baby.
2. The husband's sperm is used and another woman's egg is used but fertilized outside of the womb (since no wife in her right mind would allow her husband to screw another woman). Why not use the wife's egg? Either she can't produce one or her egg is "bad".
No.2 definitely is against Islam because the woman who gave her egg to the husband to be fertilized is NOT LEGALLY MARRIED to him. So that's totally out.
But No.1 situation made me think that such surrogacy is not against Islam. Firstly, there is no out of wedlock sexual intercourse taking place. Secondly, both the husband's sperm and wife's egg are being used. The only problem is that they need a "medium" to allow the embryo to grow and hence, the need of a surrogate mother.
According to the ustaz, in vitro fertilization is allowed in Islam because "the mother is the same person. there will be no conflict. but the fertilisation should be done after the solemnisation of marriage". Such in vitro will only be allowed if the womb that is going to carry the baby is the wife's one and not another woman's.
So the ustaz's concern with surrogacy is that there will be a conflict WHO IS THE MOTHER.
To my understanding, the mother is of course the woman who's EGG IS BEING USED. That's why i say if both the husband's sperm and wife's egg are being used, surrogacy is ok. That's the BIOLOGICAL MOTHER. Dictionary.com defines biological mother as
a parent who has conceived (biological mother) or sired (biological father) rather than adopted a child and whose genes are therefore transmitted to the child.
The keyword here is that TRANSMISSION OF GENES. The child will have the gene of both the husband and wife and the surrogate mother is just a "medium".
But the problem with HUMAN BEINGS is that they want to be so extra emotional that they think the woman who gave BIRTH to the child should also be considered a mother although GENETICALLY the child is NOT HERS.
But maybe you want to make things more complicated, you divide the term "mother" into BIOLOGICAL MOTHER and NON BIOLOGICAL MOTHER.
Just because you breastfeed the child until the child is old enough doesn't make you his biological mother.
Just because you rent your womb to another woman to fertilized her embryo doesn't make you the child's biological mother.
The GENERAL RULE, biological mother have more priority and is the ULTIMATE MOTHER. The real mother is the biological mother. END OF STORY.
So there is a fatwa that says "surrogacy is forbidden in Islam even if the sperm and ovum were taken from married couple". Reason? "uncertainty of the child's parentage and the lack of regulation on option of choosing a surrogate mother".
What i'm trying to say is that the child's parentage is really not that confusing if surrogacy is used since you are using the husband's sperm and the wife's egg. And DNA will tell you who's the child's MOTHER.
Hmm i'm thinking that if 100 years from now you can develop a human baby without using a womb, is that forbidden too although the sperm and egg are from a legally married couple and no out of wedlock sex is involved?
The issue here I believe is when the baby is born. Then only the real trouble comes in.
ReplyDeleteOf course, by DNA it belongs to the conceiver, but the real problem stems when the surrogate mother gives birth to the child. It would not be fair if suddenly she goes all "Motherly Feeling" and fights for the kid. In a religious view, this would separate the bonds between one and another.
You may have a crazy surrogate mother demanding for the child of another couple's insemination and by Islamic Law, she may win (The rule of thumb: Mother's knows best and Breast Milk). Even if it is haram.
perhaps this was why it was sanctioned as haram. Because the technology, at the time when Islam came down, will exist in the future.
"Mothers know best" is only applicable if she has been a mother several years... and a good mother too.
ReplyDeleteAll the surrogate mother ever done is just to carry on with the pregnancy. She was being PAID to be pregnant.
Not all women can be surrogate mothers.. they need to strictly follow the contract of surrogacy. And i think the law should protect the biological parents if the surrogate mother plans to back out in the end and she shouldnt win.
Sadly, that's the common general statement. Then again, I believe if a woman is really ready, that statement would be applicable.
ReplyDeleteTrue. But that's 9 months before she went it labor. Hormones are known to drive u wild. That's a big issue there.
In the context of being Muslim, its always more to the prevention of such sort of things from happening. There's a good side to it really. But the law should be more enforced on other religions of other faiths. If there's a "fair" settlement between 2 parties,i believe things can be achieved.