Marcia C. Inhorn William K. Lanman, Jr. Professor Anthropology and International Affairs Council on Middle East Studies Yale University Global Gametes: Reproductive “Tourism” and Islamic Bioethics in the High-tech Middle East
Marcia C. InhornWilliam K. Lanman, Jr. ProfessorAnthropology and International AffairsCouncil on Middle East StudiesYale University
Global Gametes: Reproductive “Tourism” and Islamic Bioethics in the High-tech Middle East
Emergence
Assisted reproductive technologies Islamic bioethical discourses ART industry and market demand for donor
gametes Local moral worlds Reproductive “tourism” Emergent masculinities
“Dominant, Residual, and Emergent”Raymond Williams
“New meanings and values, new practices, new relationships and kinds of relationship, which are continually being created”
Assisted Reproductive Technologies(ARTs)
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) Third-party reproductive assistance Gestational surrogacy Cryopreservation Ooplasm transfer Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) Human embryonic stem cell research Human reproductive cloning
IVF Clinics in Egypt, Israel, and Lebanon, 2003
Egypt (pop. 70 million): 50 Israel (pop. 6 million): 24 Lebanon (pop. 3-5 million): 15
Sunni Islam Permits:
Artificial insemination In vitro fertilization Intracytoplasmic sperm injection Cryopreservation Post-menopausal pregnancy with own eggs Preimplantation genetic diagnosis Multifetal pregnancy reduction Embryo research Uterine transplantation
Sunni Islam Prohibits:
Third party donors Surrogacy Donor or surrogate children as legitimate Assisted reproduction after divorce or death Sperm banks PGD or sperm sorting for sex selection Human reproductive cloning Genetic alteration of embryos
Ebrahim Moosa: In terms of ethics, Muslim authorities
consider the transmission of reproductive material between persons who are not legally married to be a major violation of Islamic law. This sensitivity stems from the fact that Islamic law has a strict taboo on sexual relations outside wedlock (zina). The taboo is designed to protect paternity (i.e., family), which is designated as one of the five goals of Islamic law, the others being the protection of religion, life, property, and reason.
Mixture of (Genealogical) Relations
Dangerous, forbidden, against nature, against God, haram
Stranger to enter the family Purity of lineage through known fathers Patrilineality
Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences
Ban on donation of reproductive material No Sunni Muslim-majority country allows
gamete donation or surrogacy
The Emergence of Reproductive Tourism
Fertility tourism, procreative tourism, or cross-border reproductive care (CBRC)
“the travelling by candidate service recipients from one institution, jurisdiction or country where treatment is not available to another institution, jurisdiction or country where they can obtain the kind of medically assisted reproduction they desire. As such, it is part of the more general ‘medical tourism.’”
Eight Major Restrictions Religious, ethical, or legal reasons Lack of expertise and equipment Supply problems: shortages and waiting lists Safety risks Categories of individuals may not receive a
service Medical privacy and confidentiality Poor quality care and lower success rates Cost
The Idea of an Anthropology of IslamTalal Asad
“A practice is Islamic because it is authorized by the discursive traditions of Islam, and is so taught to Muslims.”
“The resistances they encounter (from Muslims and non-Muslims) are equally the concern of an anthropology of Islam.”
Emergent Local Moral WorldsArthur Kleinman
“the moral accounts, [which] are the commitments of social participants in a local world about what is at stake in everyday experience”
“ethnography of experience”
The Modern Middle EastJames Gelvin
“The doctrines and institutions associated with Islam or any other religion are not frozen in time. They exist within history, not outside history. And while there are continuities of religious doctrines and institutions, the meaning those doctrines and institutions hold for society, and the function they play in society, evolve through time.”