Legalization and Islamic Bioethical Perspectives on Prenatal Diagnosis and Advanced Uses of Pre implantation Genetic Diagnosis in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

JCRB, an open access journal Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) was introduced more than 20 years ago [1]. This technique was available to fertile couples to overcome genetic problems, chromosomal abnormalities and inherited single-gene disorders and to select gender for both medical and non-medical reasons. More recently, PGD has been extended to screening for late onset diseases, cancer predisposition [2,3] and HLA matching to disease-affected siblings to provide a source for stem cell transplantation [4-7]. The practice of PGD remains a worldwide subject of debate. In the last two decades, the influence of religion on bioethics has declined, and the subject has become dominated by secular philosophical, social, and legal concepts. However, in the Middle East, religion still significantly influences social behaviors, attitudes, practices and policy-making [8].

Attitude toward Prenatal Testing and Termination of Pregnancy among Health Professionals and Medical Students in Saudi Arabia

“…Parent's decision on TOP (if allowed) is influenced by level of awareness, education, religion, culture, social environments, and personal perception on the severity of the condition; however, a major determinant of TOP decisions is the attitude of health care professionals toward PND and TOP. 7,8,[14][15][16][17] The attitude of health care professionals toward PND and TOP has been studied in some countries such as Sri Lanka and Japan. 5,18 However, there is currently a gap in the literature regarding the attitude toward PND and TOP among health care professionals in Saudi Arabia.…”

Molecular autopsy by proxy: relevance for genetic counseling in rare genetic disorders

“…From the Islamic perspective, it is permissible to perform prenatal diagnosis if the risk to the embryo/fetus and the mother is minimal (A. Sultan et al, 2013 ; Shoaib, 2024 ). From our observation, the counseled couples did not favor prenatal diagnosis and opted directly for PGT-M.…”

Legal Situation Regarding Assessed Reproduction Technologies in Muslim Countries

“…Storage of embryos and germ cells is not settled everywhere, however, for example, in Bahrain the term doesn't exceed 10 years in the case of gametes and up to 5 years in relation to embryos, however, under Moroccan legislation cryogenic preservation of germ cells is no more than 5 years without the right of renewals, unused embryos are forbidden to keep for any period. The Minister of Health of the Sultanate of Oman [17] and the president of the Supreme Council of the Union of United Arab Emirates [27] have established rules that allow the storage of sperm, eggs, and embryos and zygotes with annual renewal of biological material for 5 years. Under Law No.…”

“…This is the only country from the above-mentioned list where access to PGD is legalized. Nevertheless, as practice shows, formally there is no ban on PGD and ASG, therefore they are actively used [27]. Siberian Journal of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Том 15, №1, 2023…”