Conference tackles implications of using artificial wombs
KUWAIT: President of the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences (IOMS) Dr Mohammad Al-Jarallah affirmed that the organization presented the world with recommendations and latest medical developments in the modern age that provided a great service for mankind. This came during his speech at the 14th international conference entitled ‘Artificial wombs, discovering opportunities and medical, moral and legal challenges’, held on Wednesday under the patronage of Health Minister Dr Ahmad Al-Awadhi.
Dr Jarallah said that among these provisions are children born from in-vitro fertilization, gonadal transplantation, euthanasia, cloning and human genome that occurs outside Muslim countries without considering the specifics of Muslim ethics. He pointed out that the organization took the lead in carrying out this task in 1981 by holding many conferences and seminars that resulted in the issuing 35 ethical medical jurisprudence documents that met the need of doctors and jurists in the Islamic world to find out the provisions of medical emergencies and innovations.
He added that the conference aims to explore the opportunities and challenges that accompany the artificial womb technology to ensure the establishment of health, legal and ethical measurements from an Islamic perspective. The conference hosted a group of Islamic scholars from 15 countries. Regional Director of Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Ahmad Al-Mandhari said through a video call that this technology provides the opportunity to perform fetal surgeries without endangering mothers.
“This technology will launch a new era for humanity in which infertile couples can fulfill their dreams of building a family and reduce the risks of pregnancy,” he said. “According to WHO report in 2023, 17.5 of adults suffer from infertility, or one out of six people worldwide. This indicates the urgent need to increase access to fertility care to ensure the health of individuals,” he added. “In the Middle East, 10.7 percent of people suffer from infertility for life. This technology in accordance with the Islamic laws will open new horizons, and would be possible and acceptable culturally, religiously, morally and socially,” he noted. – KUNA
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