Question:

Is it permissible for a Muslim who has no children to do IVF and IUI?

Answer:

1. IVF is a process of fertilisation out of the woman’s body. In this process a woman’s eggs are surgically removed and fertilised in a laboratory using sperm that has been given as a sperm sample. This process according to all our Maraje’ is permissible. You should however keep in mind that the child born via this process belongs to the owner of the sperm (if he is different from the husband of the woman), but if the child is a female, she will be Mahram to the husband of the mother of the child, because she will be his step-daughter (daughter of his wife).

2. IUI (Intrauterine insemination) is a procedure that involves placing sperm inside a woman’s uterus to facilitate fertilization. If the sperm is from her husband, there is no problem except with regards to the surgeons and nurses, as them seeing the private parts of the patient is often part of the process.

If the sperm is not from her husband, then it is not permissible.

Answered by: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei