RESUMEN
Shi'i jurists have three different theories with regard to gestational surrogacy and who should be recognized as the mother of the newborn: (1) the surrogate mother (2) or the ovum provider (biological mother) (3) or both of them. The religious law (al-Ahkam al-shar'i) regarding the title of 'mother' and issues such as inheritance, will (Wasiya), marriage, and custody have been discussed by Shi'i jurists but no exact definition of this term has been provided by them. Because the fertilized ovum is considered the origin of humans and the formation of an embryo also determines the kinship of the newborn, the mother of the child is the woman that fetus created by her ovum. It is this woman who has all the rights and responsibilities of a mother; even if the surrogate mother is considered the mother of the child, she has no rights over the child nor does she have any duties towards him/her.
RESUMEN
Background: Ethical attitudes and personal values play a significant role in clinical decision-making; however, they have been given limited attention by professionals in laboratory medicine. Studies suggest that individual attitudes are not static and that professionals learn ethical attitudes through a variety of formal and informal learning methods. This study was conducted to investigate changes in the attitudes of clinical laboratory professionals after teaching them ethics and to compare the results among the 3 groups. Methods: Four topics were selected in the field of medical laboratory ethics as teaching materials. A questionnaire including 22 items was designed and validated. Teaching sessions for the 3 study groups were held. All 65 clinical laboratory participants completed the questionnaire before and after the classes. Paired t test and ANOVA were used to assess differences among groups. Results: Significant differences were found in the mean scores of ethical attitudes before and after the educational intervention among the lecture-based teaching group (p=0.016), problem-based learning group (p=0.001), and all participants (p=0.004). However, no significant difference was found between the mean scores before and after the intervention in role-playing group (p=0.623). Conclusion: Teaching by lecturing and problem-based learning was more effective to change ethical attitude of the laboratory professionals than the role-playing method. Thus, we suggest the implementation of teaching ethics using these methods to improve the ethical attitude of clinical laboratory professionals.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: One of the most controversial issues related to the human embryo is the determination of the moment when an embryo is considered a human being and acquires a moral status. Although personhood and moral status are frequently mentioned in medical ethics, they are considered interdisciplinary as concepts that shape the debate in medical law (fiqh) since their consequences are influential in the way which the parents and other individuals behave towards the embryo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This analytical-descriptive research gathered relevant data in a literature search. After a description of the fundamentals and definitions, we subsequently analyzed juridical texts and selected one of the viewpoints that regarded the surrogacy contract revocation. RESULTS: The surrogacy contract is a contract based upon which two sides (infertile couple and surrogate mother) involved in making the contract are obligated to fulfill its terms. Therefore, contract revocation can be surveyed from three perspectives: mutual revocation (iqala), legal unilateral wills (khiar al-majlis, khiar al-ayb), and contractual wills (khiar al-shart). CONCLUSION: Revocation of a surrogacy contract either by the genetic parents, surrogate or the fertility clinic is allowed by Muslim jurists only when the embryo lacks personhood. Based on Islamic teachings, the termination of a surrogacy contract in and after the sixteenth week of pregnancy, when the embryo acquires a human soul (ensoulment), is not allowed. However religious thought emphasizes the moral status of the fetus before the sixteenth week and states that optional termination of the surrogacy contract is not permitted while the fetus becomes a human being.
RESUMEN
A major debate in medical ethics is the request for futile treatment. The topic of medical futility requires discrete assessment in Iran for at least two reasons. First, the common principles and foundations of medical ethics have taken shape in the context of Western culture and secularism. Accordingly, the implementation of the same guidelines and codes of medical ethics as Western societies in Muslim communities does not seem rational. Second, the challenges arising in health service settings are divergent across different countries. The Quranic concept of idle (laghw) and its derivatives are used in 11 honorable verses of the Holy Quran. Among these verses, the 3rd verse of the blessed Al-Muminun Surah was selected for its closer connection to the concept under examination. The selected verse was researched in the context of all dictionaries presented in Noor Jami` al-Tafasir 2 (The Noor Collection of Interpretations 2) software. "Idle" is known as any insignificant speech, act, or thing that is not beneficial; an action from which no benefit is gained; any falsehood (that is not stable or realized); an entertaining act; any foul, futile talk and action unworthy of attention; loss of hope; and something that is not derived from method and thought. The word has also been used to refer to anything insignificant. The notes and derived interpretations were placed in the following categories: A) Having no significant benefit (When medical care does not benefit the patient (his body and/or soul and his life in this world and/or the Hereafter), it is wrong to proceed with that medical modality; B) Falsehood (Actions that fail to provide, maintain, and improve health are clearly futile); C) Unworthy of attention (An action that neither improves health nor threatens it is wrong and impermissible).