Islamic court legalises ‘test tube babies’ in Pakistan

Pakistan’s top Shariah court has validated the option of using ‘test tube baby’ method for conceiving for the married couples having some medical complications.

If “the sperm has been obtained from the father and the egg from the mother and the same has been fertilised in the test tube through medical process and the embryo is then placed in the womb of the actual mother… the procedure would be legal and lawful,” the Federal Shariat Court declared on Tuesday (21).

“This process cannot be considered as illegal or against the Injunctions of Holy Quran and Sunnah,” the court said in its 22-page ruling, according to Dawn news.

The court said, “the reason is that the sperm and the egg belong to the actual father and mother. If the couple agree to go through the prescribed medical procedure then in that case legally no question can be raised in respect of the birth of the child. The child in such a case by all means would be legal and legitimate.”

The court, however, made it clear that any other condition for obtaining a test tube baby would be considered un-Islamic.

“In all other cases where a woman is arranged as a surrogate mother against the monetary consideration or some other reason, the whole procedure as well as the resulting birth of the child would be illegal and against the injunctions of Holy Quran and Sunnah,” reads the written decision.

The court also directed the government to take action against those involved in anti-sharia practices in this regard.

The court directed for appropriate amendments in Section 2 of the Contract Act, 1872 and in Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), calling for suggestions in this regard by August 15, 2017.

In 2013, the Council of Islamic Ideology Pakistan said test tube babies were allowed in Islam but with certain conditions.