A Comparative Approach to the Legitimacy of Uterine Surrogacy in Jurisprudence in Iran and Some Muslim Countries in the Middle East, A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: A surrogate uterus is one of the methods of artificial reproduction in the treatment of infertility that has profound consequences in religion, law, ethics and society and is done with the intervention of a third party. This research provides a general overview of jurisprudential legitimacy in the field of surrogacy in some Middle Eastern countries (Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine) in comparison to Iran in order to fill the research gap as much as possible. Objective: A comparative approach to the legitimacy of uterine surrogacy in jurisprudence in Iran and some Muslim countries in the Middle East. Method: This review article was conducted from November 2022 to April 2023 in order to examine the comparative rights of surrogacy in Iran and some Middle Eastern countries from studies published between 1970-2021 in the reliable database and other jurisprudential texts. Results: The majority of Sunni Muslim countries have announced the prohibition of surrogacy and the invalidity of contracts concluded in this regard. In Iran, with religious permission, it has had more social acceptance, and jurists and jurists prescribe surrogacy contracts. However, the legislator's silence in this regard will have an effect on the emergence of different procedures in different regions of Iran. Conclusion: Basically, increasing the adoption and implementation of surrogate pregnancy in different societies of the Middle East requires more jurisprudential and legal efforts. So that the couples involved in this type of fertility and the children born are kept safe from possible harm.