Modern medicine, specifically assisted reproductive technology (ART), has overtaken the law in many jurisdictions around the world. New technologies and practices open a Pandora's Box of ethical, religious, social and legal questions, and may present a variety of significant legal problems to the courts and legislators. Surrogate motherhood and pregnancy through ART have both attracted controversy. Some groups condemn ART and want it banned while its supporters acknowledge there is a need for legislative guidelines and regulations. A proposed statute, the Assisted Reproductive Technique Services Act, aimed at regulating reproductive technologies, including surrogacy arrangements, will be introduced in the Malaysian parliament, probably in 2012, and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill 2010 is already before the Indian parliament. This paper will discuss several of the potential socio-legal issues surrounding ART in the light of the complex situation, with a comparative analysis of the Malaysian, USA, UK and Indian positions.
Tri-parent baby technology is an assisted reproductive treatment which aims to minimize or eliminate maternal inheritance of mutated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The technology became popular following the move by the United Kingdom in granting license to a group of researchers from the Newcastle Fertility Centre, Newcastle University to conduct research on the symptoms of defective mtDNA. This technology differs from other assisted reproductive technology because it involves the use of gamete components retrieved from three different individuals. Indirectly, it affects the preservation of lineage which is important from an Islamic point of view. This paper aims to analyze and discuss the implications of the tri-parent technology on preservation of lineage from the perspective of Maqasid al-Shari'ah based the Islamic bioethics. The analysis shows that there are a few violations of the preservation of lineage, hence the tri-parent baby technology should not be permitted.
Rapid development in the area of assisted reproductive technology (ART), has benefited mankind by addressing reproductive problems. However, the emergence of new technologies and techniques raises various issues and discussions among physicians and the masses, especially on issues related to bioethics. Apart from solutions provided using conventional bioethics framework, solutions can also be derived via a complementary framework of bioethics based on the Higher Objectives of the Divine Law (Maqasid al-Shariah) in tackling these problems. This approach in the Islamic World has been applied and localised in the Malaysian context. Thus, this paper highlights a conceptual theoretical framework for solving current bioethical issues, with a special focus on ART in the Malaysian context, and compares this theory with conventional theories of bioethics.
Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) represents the first fusion of genomics and assisted reproduction and the first reproductive technology that allows prospective parents to screen and select the genetic characteristics of their potential offspring. However, for some, the idea that we can intervene in the mechanisms of human existence at such a fundamental level can be, at a minimum, worrying and, at most, repugnant. Religious doctrines particularly are likely to collide with the rapidly advancing capability for science to make such interventions. This paper focuses on opinions and arguments of selected religious scholars regarding ethical issues pertaining to PGD. In-depth interviews were conducted with religious scholars from three different religious organizations in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Findings showed that Christian scholars are very sceptical of the long-term use of PGD because of its possible effect on the value of humanity and the parent-children relationship. This differs from Islamic scholars, who view PGD as God-given knowledge in medical science to further help humans understand medical genetics. For Buddhist scholars, PGD is considered to be new medical technology that can be used to save lives, avoid suffering, and bring happiness to those who need it. Our results suggest that it is important to include the opinions and views of religious scholars when it comes to new medical technologies such as PGD, as their opinions will have a significant impact on people from various faiths, particularly in a multi-religious country like Malaysia where society places high value on marital relationships and on the traditional concepts of family.
Maqasid al-Shariah based Islamic bioethics is an Islamic bioethics concept which uses the objectives of the Shariah (maqasid al-Shariah) as its approach in analysing and assessing bioethical issues. Analysis based on maqasid al-Shariah based Islamic bioethics will examine any bioethical issues from three main aspects namely intention, method, and output or final goal of the studied issues. Then, the evaluation will be analysed from human interest hierarchy, inclusivity, and degree of certainty. The Islamic bioethics concept is a manifestation of dynamic Islamic jurisprudence which can overcome new complex and complicated bioethical issues such as tri-parent baby technology issues. Therefore, this article will introduce and explain the concept of maqasid al-Shariah based Islamic bioethics and outline a general guidance of maqasid al-Shariah based Islamic bioethics to determine a maqṣad (objective) based on standards of human good or well-being (maslahah) and harm (mafsadah).