Fatwa ID: 09062
Answered by Muftiyah Aisha Qureshi
Question:
Assalāmu Alaykum
If a woman is doing ivf, and they retrieve a few eggs and fertilize them. Then they give the patient the option of discarding the eggs that didn’t take well to the fertilization. Is discarding the eggs a form of an abortion or is it permissible, considering that the eggs were fertilized and not just on their own?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Rulings related to abortion depend on the stage of development of the foetus. The earlier the stage, the lighter the ruling, and the more developed the foetus becomes, the stricter the ruling. Full prohibition applies after ensoulment, [1] before the formation of the foetus there is some allowance, although it is still not something taken lightly.
In the case of IVF, fertilisation takes place outside the womb, and the fertilised eggs at that stage have not implanted or begun developing in a stable environment. [2[ Because of this, they are at an even earlier stage than what is discussed regarding termination of pregnancy. In Fiqh terms, there is no established pregnancy at this point.
Based on this, discarding fertilised eggs in IVF is not considered abortion, since abortion relates to terminating a pregnancy within the womb after some level of development has begun. Here, the process has not yet reached that stage.
However, even though it is not treated as abortion, it should still be handled with care and only done when there is a valid medical reason, as early human life is still given a level of respect in Islamic law.
Only Allah ﷻ knows best.
Written by Muftiyah Aisha Qureshi
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
References:
[1]
بَقِيَ هَلْ يُبَاحُ الْإِسْقَاطُ بَعْدَ الْحَمْلِ؟ نَعَمْ يُبَاحُ مَا لَمْ يَتَخَلَّقْ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ وَلَنْ يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ إلَّا بَعْدَ مِائَةٍ وَعِشْرِينَ يَوْمًا، وَهَذَا يَقْتَضِي أَنَّهُمْ أَرَادُوا بِالتَّخْلِيقِ نَفْخَ الرُّوحِ وَإِلَّا فَهُوَ غَلَطٌ لِأَنَّ التَّخْلِيقَ يَتَحَقَّقُ بِالْمُشَاهَدَةِ قَبْلَ هَذِهِ الْمُدَّةِ كَذَا فِي الْفَتْحِ،
Rad al muhtar vol 3 pg 176 maktaba shamila
[2]
mayoclinic.org