Methods of Artificial Reproduction (book)
Methods of Assisted Reproduction (in Arabic: وسائل الانجاب الصناعیة) is a book written by MohammadReza Sistani that jurisprudentially examines methods of Assisted Reproduction and the jurisprudential legal implications and rulings related to it. In this book, the author has tried to resolve the jurisprudential challenges facing Assisted Reproduction and to answer the questions raised regarding the permissibility of Assisted Reproduction or its consequences through analytical reasoning (ijtihad). After examining the reasons presented to prove the Prohibition of Assisted Reproduction, he writes that among the various methods of Assisted Reproduction, it is only forbidden to inseminate the egg with the sperm or stem cell of a stranger (Unrelated individual) man. To prove this Prohibition, he argues based on the Common Religious Consciousness of Muslims (what promptly appears as true to Muslims based on their background of religious knowledge) . Furthermore, he argues that this prohibition pertains to the act itself and does not affect the child’s status; thus, a child conceived through any method of artificial insemination is considered legitimate. MohammadReza Sistani is the son of Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Sīstānī, and one of the prominent professors of principles of jurisprudence at the Najaf seminary. This book is one of the pioneering and important works on jurisprudential examination of Assisted Reproduction, which was published in 2007 by Dār al-Muvarrikh al-Arabi publishing house in Beirut.
| Methods of Artificial Reproduction | |
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| Book Information | |
| Main Title | Methods of Artificial Reproduction |
| Other Names | Wasā'il al-Injāb al-Ṣanā‘īyyah |
| Author | Seyyed Mohammad Reza Sistani |
| Date of Writing | 2007 |
| Subject | Artificial insemination, Islamic Jurisprudence |
| Style | Jurisprudential, Analytical |
| Language | Arabic |
| Main Language | Arabic |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Pages | 694 |
| Size | Vaziri (Hardcover) |
| Publication Information | |
| Publisher | Dar al-Muʾarrikh al-ʿArabī |
| Publication Place | Beirut, Lebanon |
| Publication Date | 2007 (2nd Edition) |
| Printing | 2nd Edition |
| Media Type | |
| English Translation | |
| English Name | Methods of Artificial Reproduction |
| Publication Details | Beirut, Dar al-Muʾarrikh al-ʿArabī, 2007 |
- abstract
Brief introduction of the book
The book Methods of Assisted Reproduction is written by MohammadReza Sistani, who has examined and researched the effects of and rulings related to Assisted Reproduction from the perspective of Shia jurisprudence through analytical reasoning (ijtihadi approach). Contents of the book are not compiled based on the common research structure; rather, the writing style is closer to the methods of presentation of the lessons of the Advanced Jurisprudence (Kharij). The topics of the book are organized in three main chapters and a sub-chapter titled appendices. In the first chapter, the legitimacy of different methods of Assisted Reproduction, in the second chapter, issues related to the implementation process of Assisted Reproduction, such as the rulings on physical contact and gazing [at a Unrelated individual person], and in the third chapter, jurisprudential consequences after pregnancy through Assisted Reproduction have been discussed and investigated. It is noteworthy that the author has also dealt with hypothetical forms in the jurisprudential examination of the problem and has not sufficed with studying the existing methods; for example, pregnancy through maternal stem cell transplantation or egg insemination with plant sperm have also been discussed. At the end of the book, he has written a section titled appendices, in which he has provided explanations about some principles of jurisprudence or the authorities used in the book, such as the rule of the bed (qā'idat al-firāsh), examining the reliability of hadith narrators and investigating the authenticity of hadith books. See the book here.
Claims
The author is of the opinion that the child born from Assisted Reproduction is no different to the child born from natural pregnancy and Affiliated the Recipient (Gestational mother) and the owner of the sperm (p. 417). Also, among the various methods of Assisted Reproduction, only in case if the woman’s egg is fertilized with the sperm or stem cell of a Third-party donor, the Assisted Reproduction is not permissible. From the author's point of view, the only reason that can be cited for the Prohibition of this scenario is the Common Religious Consciousness of Muslims, and other jurisprudential evidence do not indicate its Prohibition (p. 67). It should be mentioned that the effects of a pregnancy resulting from fornication do not apply to prohibited Assisted Reproduction, and the child resulting from that is considered a legitimate child (p. 14).
Assisted Reproduction methods
The first chapter includes the introduction and three sections. In the introduction, the author investigates legitimate and illegitimate pregnancy and writes that the rulings about an illegitimate child only apply to pregnancy resulting from Coitus between two unmarried people, with intentional sexual intercourse, and other forms of illegitimate pregnancy, such as the injection of a Third-party donor’s sperm into the womb of a married woman, are not subject to the rulings about a pregnancy resulting from fornication (p. 14). After the introduction, the author has examined the three methods of Assisted Reproduction from the perspective of jurisprudence in three sections.
Injection of the husband’s sperm
In this case, if the insemination is accompanied by the consent of both parties, there is no reason for its Prohibition and it is permissible. However, if one of the couples does not consent, neither of them has the right to oblige the other to undergo Assisted Reproduction. Nonetheless, if insemination is done, the resulting pregnancy is considered a legitimate pregnancy (pp. 20, 24 and 35). Also, if the husband’s semen is mixed with semen of a Third-party donor (to increase the probability of pregnancy), there jurisprudential concerns regarding the permissibility about the permissibility of the insemination. The resulting pregnancy, however, will be a legitimate pregnancy (p. 37). Also, insemination with the husband’s sperm is permissible during the Iddah of a revocable divorce or the Iddah of death (pp. 39 and 41).
Injection of a Third-party donor’s sperm
The author considers the arguments based on verses, traditions and the The Principle of Precaution for the Prohibition of Assisted Reproduction using the sperm of a Third-party donor to be incomplete and only accepts the argument based on the Common Religious Consciousness of Muslims. In the explanation of this Common Religious Consciousness, it should be noted that pregnancy with someone other than the husband (The pre-Islamic practice of Istibḍā’ (seeking a child from a man of noble lineage)’) was common before Islam, and after Islam, it was made forbidden in the Common Religious Consciousness of Muslims, and this belief arises from the Sharia. Therefore, the belief of Muslims can indicate Prohibition of pregnancy with other than the husband (p. 67). Nonetheless, at the end of the section and in the conclusion, the author did not issue a fatwa on the Prohibition of insemination with a Third-party donor’s sperm, and has sufficed with obligatory precaution (p. 91).
Implanting the egg of the Recipient (Gestational mother)
IVF is carried out after in vitro fertilization. Egg fertilization with sperm or stem cell of the husband is permissible only with the consent of both parties, and if one of the spouses does not consent, neither of them has the right to obligate the other. However, if it is done without consent, it is considered a legitimate pregnancy (p. 102). Also, if the sperm or stem cell Affiliated a Third-party donor, it goes under the ruling of injecting a Third-party donor’s sperm as mentioned above.
Implanting another woman’s egg
In this scenario, if the consent of the Egg donor, the Recipient (Gestational mother) and her husband is obtained, implantation of the egg is permissible. Also, consent of the egg owner's spouse is not necessary unless we assume that the lineage is attributed to the donor or that the egg donation is Infringes upon his marital rights, in which case his consent is also required (p. 114).
Reproductive organ transplantation
According to the author, implantation of sex organs Does not pose jurisprudential obstacles for subsequent pregnancies from the jurisprudential point of view, and if pregnancy occurs after the implantation of genital organs, it is considered a legitimate pregnancy. This not gender-specific and includes the implantation of genitals in the body of both (p. 133).
In the second chapter, the author has discussed a series of forbidden matters that may be done in the process of Assisted Reproduction; for example, looking at the ‘‘ʿAwrah’’ (Private parts) of the opposite sex is haram, and uncovering the ‘‘ʿAwrah’’ (Private parts) is also not permissible because it causes a haram look. However, uncovering the ‘‘ʿAwrah’’ (Private parts) before a Healthcare provider of the same sex for the purpose of Assisted Reproduction may be considered permissible because it has a Rational purpose, and it is definitely permissible if there is a necessity. Also, uncovering the body of a woman who is not elderly before a Healthcare provider of the opposite sex is forbidden and is permissible only on the assumption of necessity (p. 190).
Secondary reasons
According to secondary rules such as the principle of “no harm,” if it is not possible to perform Assisted Reproduction based on religious conditions and if avoiding it entails harm to the spouses, some matters such as not covering the body before a Healthcare provider or Healthcare provider who does not abide by the rules of Sharia are permissible based on secondary rulings (p. 339). Also, according to the rule of “no hardship,” if conducting Assisted Reproduction in compliance with the conditions of Sharia results in Undue hardship for the couple, then performing it without abiding by the rules of Sharia is permissible by a secondary ruling (p. 349).
Jurisprudential consequences of Assisted Reproduction
Iddah and Maintenance (Nafaqah) for the wife
In the third chapter, the effects of Assisted Reproduction are discussed. In general, if divorce or death occurs during the various methods of Assisted Reproduction, the Iddah is fixed for the woman, and this ruling does not apply to a Consummated marriage alone, and includes a non-penetrated one as well (pp. 383 and 385). Also, paying the costs of maintenance to a woman who has been made pregnant through Assisted Reproduction is obligatory upon the husband, unless the sperm of a Third-party donor was used in the insemination process, in which case it is possible, from the point of view of jurisprudence, that the owner of the sperm be responsible for the costs of maintenance of the woman during pregnancy (p. 411).
Lineage and adoption
Regarding paternal lineage, Sayyid Mohsen Hakim is of the opinion that from the jurisprudential point of view, the child resulting from Assisted Reproduction does not belong to the owner of the sperm, but only Attributed to the mother (p. 412). But from the author’s point of view, this statement and its reasons can be criticized, and the child resulting from Assisted Reproduction takes its paternal lineage from the owner of the sperm or stem cell by which the egg was fertilized (pp. 417 and 421). Regarding attribution to the mother, according to custom and Linguistic usage, the title of mother refers to the Gestational mother who gives birth to the child (p. 440). From the jurisprudential point of view as well, the strongest possibility is attribution of the child to the Gestational mother (p. 450). In any case, if parentage of the child is not known, from the point of view of jurisprudence, adoption is invalid and is not affected by the religious effects and requirements of parent and child (p. 466).
Inheritance and rules of fostering
In pregnancies resulting from various methods of Assisted Reproduction, the author believes that if the child takes lineage from the living parent, the rules of inheritance will apply, but if Assisted Reproduction is done after the death of the mother or father, the child resulting from Assisted Reproduction will not inherit from them (pp. 468 and 472). Also, comparing fostering to Assisted Reproduction is not correct, and if we consider the Egg donor as the child’s mother, the Gestational mother has no relationship with the child from the religious point of view, and the rulings related to fostering, such as the Marital prohibitions (Mahramiyah), do not apply between the Gestational mother and the child born by Assisted Reproduction (p. 481).
Abortion
Abortion is forbidden in any case and there is no difference between a fetus resulting from Assisted Reproduction and a fetus resulting from natural pregnancy. Even if we consider the mother to be the Egg donor, abortion is forbidden for the Gestational mother as well. However, if avoiding abortion leads to Undue hardship, abortion is permissible until before the Ensoulment (Nafkh al-Rūḥ) (pp. 483-484).