Fatwa: Conception by in vitro fertilization (IVF)

Suhaib Webb | May 10, 2008 6:36 pm

The Question:

A woman has been married for five years and has a problem conceiving. The physicians advised her to try in vitro fertilization. Is this lawful or unlawful?

The Answer:

There is no legal objection to conception by fertilizing the wife’s egg and the husband’s sperm outside the womb and then implanting it in the wife’s uterus [when the following conditions are met]:

it is incontrovertibly established that the egg comes from the wife and the sperm comes from her husband;
that fertilization occurred outside her uterus (in a Petri dish);
the fertilized ovum was implanted in the wife’s uterus without being replaced or mixed with another sperm sample;
there is a medical necessity for it (e.g. either spouse having a disease preventing natural conception, or when it is the only way for the wife to conceive); and
it must be carried out by a trustworthy doctor who is a [fertility] specialist.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Question answered on 20 April 2005.