Transcript What does religion have to say about Embryo

Lesson
Purpose: To
look at the moral
implications of the use
of embryo technology
MORALITY TEST FRIDAY!!!
Recap Qs:
Summarize who the HFEA are and
explain its main rules.
 What is PGD?
 What is Therapeutic Cloning?
 What are saviour siblings?

Exam questions
Describe two uses of embryos 4KU
 In what ways does the UK law
regulate the use of embryos? 2KU

Describe two uses of embryos.
 Examples of areas covered
 • IVF
 • Research
 • Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis
 • Pre-implantation genetic selection
 • Saviour siblings 4
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
In what ways does UK law regulate
the use of embryos?
Examples of areas covered:
 • Regulations about storage
 • Licensing of clinics
 • Applications for embryo research
 • Monitoring of clinics
 • Statutory body to oversee use of
embryos 2

What does religion have to say
about Embryo technology?
The Christian view:
 Life is sacred
 Only God should
create life and take
it away.
 God knows you even
when you are in the
womb...
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You created every
part of me; you put
me together in my
mother’s womb...
When my bones
were being
formed... when I
was growing there in
secret, you knew
that I was there.

Psalm 139: 13-16
Do all Christians have the same
opinion about Embryo technology?
Roman Catholic Church: thinks embryo
technology is wrong. This is because you
are a person from the moment of
conception.
 Church of Scotland: does think that life is
sacred but some agree with using embryos
until the 14th day of development.
 Both churches disagree with the idea of
designer babies

IVF and Islam

IVF is allowed in Islam for various reasons:
 Islam supports the use of science to allow, for instance,
an infertile couple to have children.
 Islam makes a distinction between a potential person
and an actual person. Until God implants a soul the
embryo is not an actual person – so the destruction of
spare embryos is not the equivalent of murder.
 Children are seen as a blessing by God and helping
couples to have children is seen to be furthering God’s
will.

The approval for IVF in Islam is not unqualified.
It is always seen in the context of the vital
importance of family life.

The importance of the family in Islam is hard to
over-state. Nothing must be done to undermine
the family (although divorce is allowed it is
certainly not considered the ideal).
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The Qu’ran makes very clear the importance of
a conventional family and would not accept the
alternative variety of ‘family’ relationships
widely accepted in the West.
Generally the use by a couple of another man’s
sperm or another woman’s egg would not be
acceptable in Islam as this would be regarded as
adultery and any resulting children would be
bastards.
 However, as a man may have more than one wife in
Islam, this opens the possibility of taking an egg
from one wife, fertilising it with the sperm of the
husband and implanting it in another wife’s womb.
 Some early Sunni scholars held that this might be
acceptable but a consensus has now emerged that
it is not acceptable. Sunni countries have now
generally prohibited these procedures.
 In Shi’i Islam it is not so straightforward.

The Shi’i position on IVF
There is no single position as much depends
on which authority is accepted.
 Ayatollah ‘Ali-as-Sistani from Najaf in Iraq
is one of the most highly regarded scholars
and he rejects the use of donor eggs or
sperm.
 However, there are other Shi’i scholars such
as Ayatollah Khomeni from Iran – whose
influence is particularly important in
Lebanon but also in Iran itself. He does not
consider the use of donor eggs and sperm to
be equivalent to adultery as no sexual act
has taken place so he allows the donation of
gametes.
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IVF is intended to help a married couple have
children when they could not otherwise have
them. BUT Islam is quite clear that this does
not extend to:
Unmarried couples having children
 Homosexual or lesbian couples having children
 The use of a surrogate mother
 The use of donor egg or sperm.
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Generally fertilization has to be with the
husband’s sperm and the wife’s egg and this
must happen whilst both are still alive and
not divorced.
The Muslim View
Life is a gift from Allah.
 He breathes life into the
embryo, this when you
become a person.
 Some Muslims think this
happens on the 42nd day of
development. Others say
it is on the 120th day.

Some Muslims agree with embryo
research.
 Some say that Allah has given humans
intelligence. We should use this to make
life better: if you can make someone’s life
better by using embryo research then you
should.
 Some argue therefore, that using preembryo's or embryos for research is
acceptable if the possible benefits are
great enough.

What is your opinion?
Questions: answer these fully in
your jotters.
1.
Name two ways in which Christians
and Muslims agree about embryo
research
2. When does the Catholic Church think
that life begins?
3.Why is it difficult to give a clear cut
answer about what Christians think of
embryo research?
4. When do Muslims believe you become a
person?
5. Do you have to be religious to agree with
the Christian and Muslim beliefs in
Section A? Do you agree/disagree with
any of them?
Explain two religious concerns
about the use of embryos
6AE
Examples of areas covered:
 • Beginning of life
 • Rights of the embryo
 • Personhood of embryo
 • Spiritual status
 • Breaks natural law
 • Slippery slope towards eugenics
 • The purpose of their use
 • Interference with God’s will
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