ISLAMIC BIOETHICS: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES
INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY OF ETHICS, LAW, AND THE NEW MEDICINE
Founding Editors
DAVID C. THOMASMA†
DAVID N. WEISSTUB, Université de Montréal, Canada
THOMASINE KIMBROUGH KUSHNER, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.
Editor
DAVID N. WEISSTUB, Université de Montréal, Canada Editorial Board
TERRY CARNEY, University of Sydney, Australia MARCUS DÜWELL, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
SØREN HOLM, University of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom GERRIT K. KIMSMA, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
DAVID NOVAK, University of Toronto, Canada
EDMUND D. PELLEGRINO, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
DOM RENZO PEGORARO, Fondazione Lanza and University of Padua, Italy DANIEL P. SULMASY, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, New York, U.S.A.
LAWRENCE TANCREDI, New York University, New York, U.S.A.
VOLUME 31
The titles published in this series are listed at the end of this volume.
Islamic Bioethics:
Problems and Perspectives
DARIUSCH ATIGHETCHI
Second University, Naples, Italy
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN-10 1-4020-4961-7 (HB) ISBN-13 978-1-4020-4961-3 (HB) ISBN-10 1-4020-4962-5 (e-book) ISBN-13 978-1-4020-4962-0 (e-book)
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No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfi lming,
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To BIANCA, my mother
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Note ... xi
Acknowledgements ... xiii
1 INTRODUCTION TO MUSLIM LAW ... 1
The Origins ... 1
The Present ... 7
Conclusion ... 9
2 FEATURES OF ISLAMIC BIOETHICS ... 13
The Value of the Different Positions ... 13
The Problems of Ethical Pluralism ... 14
Algeria, Tunisia, Pakistan And Iran ... 16
The Dependence on Muslim Law ... 18
The Political Dimension of Islamic Bioethics ... 19
The Principles of Bioethics ... 21
Cultural Sensibilities and Medical Ethics ... 23
Bioethics and Society ... 26
Bioethics and Apologetics ... 28
Bioethics and Muslim Countries ... 28
Conclusion ... 28
3 SOME ASPECTS OF MEDICAL ETHICS ... 31
Introduction ... 31
Principles and Characteristics ... 33
The Doctor–Patient Relationship ... 37
Men and Women ... 39
Autonomy and Consent of the Patient ... 47
Saudi Arabia, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria ... 51
The Problem of Penal Mutilation ... 54
Doctors and Penal Mutilation ... 57
Conclusion ... 63
viii TABLE OF CONTENTS
4 CONTRACEPTION AND POPULATION CONTROL ... 65
Some Classic Formulations ... 65
The Contemporary Debate: The Pro-Contraception Jurists ... 71
Sterilisation ... 78
The Opponents of Contraception ... 79
The Socio-Political Context ... 82
The Case of Iran ... 86
Conclusion ... 89
5 ABORTION ... 91
Introduction ... 91
The Sources of Tradition ... 92
Before Ensoulment ... 95
After Ensoulment ... 98
The Penal System ... 100
The Duration of Pregnancy ... 105
Three Bioethical Problems ... 106
The Debate and Contemporary Opinions ... 111
Rape, Adultery and Fornication ... 115
Legislation in Some Countries ... 119
Abortion and the Defence of Honour ... 131
Conclusion ... 133
6 ASSISTED PROCREATION ... 135
Introduction ... 136
Legal Adoption ... 139
Juridical-Religious Formulations ... 140
Opinions in Shi’ite Islam ... 148
Problems Relative to the Embryo ... 151
Society and Legislation ... 154
Conclusion ... 159
7 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGAN TRANSPLANTS ... 161
Ethical-Juridical Principles ... 161
Some Features of the Debate ... 163
Transplants from Living Donors ... 168
Transplants from Corpses ... 170
The Debate on the Criteria of Death ... 174
The Organ Trade ... 178
Uterine Transplantation ... 180
Xenotransplantation ... 181
Some National Legislations ... 183
Conclusion ... 196
TABLE OF CONTENTS ix
8 AIDS ... 199
Introduction ... 199
Particular Aspects ... 207
The Countries ... 210
9 THE OPINIONS ON GENETICS ... 235
Principles and Values ... 235
The Debate on Genetics ... 237
Human Cloning ... 241
Positions Tolerating Human Cloning ... 245
Research on Stem Cells ... 248
The Abortion of Handicapped Foetuses ... 250
Consanguineous Marriage ... 254
Pre-Natal Diagnosis ... 259
Conclusion ... 265
10 THE END OF LIFE ... 267
Suffering and Illness ... 267
The Incurably and Terminally Ill Patient ... 271
Palliative Care ... 272
Information and Consent of the Seriously and Terminally Ill Patient ... 274
The Living Will ... 283
Euthanasia ... 285
Suicide and Martyrdom ... 290
Death ... 296
Post-Mortems ... 297
Conclusion ... 303
11 FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IN SPECIFIC MUSLIM AREAS ... 305
Some Historical-Juridical Elements ... 305
The Opinions in Favour of Genital Mutilation ... 309
The Opinions Against Genital Mutilation ... 311
The Debate in Some Countries ... 316
12 THE KORAN AND MODERN SCIENCE ... 327
Introduction ... 327
Scientifi c Exegesis of the Koran ... 332
Moderate Concordism ... 345
The Opponents of Scientifi c Exegesis ... 347
Conclusion ... 349
x TABLE OF CONTENTS
13 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS ... 353 AUTHOR INDEX ... 355 SUBJECT INDEX ... 365
xi NOTE
For the terms in Arabic and other languages, a simplifi ed system of transcription has been adopted without special signs to distinguish similar consonants or long vowels. The proper names of historic fi gures appear in their commonest spelling, for modern names they are shown as they appear in the sources. As there is no distinction between fi rst name and surname, the names are shown in such a way as to make them easy to recognise.
To help the reader confi rm the data, we have chosen sources translated into Western languages.
xiii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Francesco Castro (Full Professor of Muslim Law, Second University, Rome-Tor Vergata); Renzo Pegoraro (President of the Lanza Foundation, Padua); Gian Maria Piccinelli (Full Professor of Muslim Law, Second University, Naples).
Special thanks to Joan Rundo for the translation and revision of the text and for her helpful comments.
