by Adam Abdullah
In this era of scientific advancement in the field of medical science, Muslim physicians and Islamic scholars need to establish clearly rules and guidelines concerning medical research on human. This was stressed at the 8th conference of the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences, where they urged medical nstitutions to take ethical principles into consideration when conducting biomedical researches on human beings.
“All research involving human subjects should be conducted with three basic ethical principles, namely respect for persons, beneficence, if benefits outweigh harms and justice,” said Nazih Hammad, a member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, an affiliation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
“The performance of research on human subjects is Islamically acceptable. However, it should be useful and responsive to the purposes of Islamic law including the safeguarding of one´s religion, life, intellect, progeny and property, and that it should cause harm to none of God´s creatures,” added Dr. Hossam E. Fadel, director of maternal foetal medicine, University Hospital, Georgia, USA.
He stressed that in cases where less substantial instance of harm and an outweighing benefit are in conflict, the harm is forgiven for the sake of the benefit. Fadel regretted that medical research involving human beings have created “a lot of potential pitfalls” that led to tragedies in the last century.
One of the overriding issues at the conference sessions was what doctors call the “informed consent,” meaning that medical research should be conducted at the consent of individuals. He/she, in other words, must have a prior and thorough knowledge of the nature of the research, so that they become “informed”. “It is a prerequisite for the validity of informed consent which an investigator must obtain from the subject that it should be given with full knowledge and correct understanding, on the part of the subject, of what he is consenting to,” Hammad said. He further elaborated on Islam´s position regarding people incapable of giving their consent like children or those suffering from mental or behavioral disorders.
“A guardian cannot authorize the involvement of such a person in the medical research except if the research involves an absolute or weightier benefit and if the risks involved do not exceed what is associated with a normal medical or psychological examination of such people.”
Prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the president of the International Association of Muslim Scholars, said the proposed Islamic Code of Medical Ethics should have a prelude on the importance of morals and ethics in Islam. He said morality should be preserved in all aspects of life, whether in medicine or any other field. Al-Qaradawi maintained that under Islam “the end does not justify the means.” He further suggested substituting swearing by Allah for the medical oath. Under the Shari`ah, an oath can be broken and expiated but taking Allah´s pledge cannot be broken or expiated. “So, I suggest to substitute swearing by Allah for the medical oath,” Al-Qaradawi said.
The participation of Muslims in the controversies centring on the impact of life science technologies on human lives, morals and values remains negligible.
Some of the most intensively and extensively debated issues include the human genome project, human cloning, reproductive technologies, surrogacy, abortion, euthanasia, organ transplantation, gene banks, the preservation of human bodies for resurrection, genetic engineering of plants and animals, consumption of products from cloned animals, bio-factories, evolutionary theories, and environmental conservation.
There has been tremendous progress in life sciences in the past two decades and life science advocates have promised immortal and ageless humans, cures for dreaded diseases, abundant human spare organs, and abundance of improved food for all. As a result, the 21st century is acclaimed to be the century of the life sciences. The progress in bio-medical - agricultural and medical technologies in particular, is directly touching the lives of both Muslim and non-Muslim communities alike more than any other era of human history because of the advanced information technologies coupled with aggressive marketing - propelled by an aggressive media.
The advance in biomedicine has created high hopes for improving human life but it has also created a gamut of hotly debated social issues. However, the stance of Muslims on these contentious life-touching issues is very wanting and there has been no collective stance, other than a few declarations issued by Ulama of certain countries. Even these statements have been mere declarations of prohibited or allowed (haram or halal) for a given product or technology without giving explicit information on the issues surrounding it.
The way forward is to establish the following:
1. Establishment of an independent Islamic bioethics panel to serve as an advisory panel to Islamic governments and communities. For the panel to be effective and efficient in handling issues, it should meet the following fundamental conditions: It should be an interdisciplinary panel composed of respected Islamic Ulama, life science scientists, ethicists, educators, policymakers, lawyers, and community leaders. The panel members must also represent the diversity of Muslim communities all over the world. The bioethics panel must be proactive, committed, credible, and visible in public arenas - both in Muslim and non-Muslim communities. The panel´s views, declarations, memorandums, reports, and conference proceedings on bio-medical issues should be readily accessible to the general public and not kept on shelves.
2. Training of Muslim bio-ethicists. This new breed of professional should have broader training in ethics, life sciences, and Islamic law.
3. Incorporation of bio-medical issues in school curriculums in order to educate the younger generations. The Muslim youth is more technologically adept than older generations and they are more exposed to the current social issues through modern media. They need to have a comprehensive understanding of the impact of science and technology on their communities.
4. Community education through open and accessible public forums, debates, community presentations, online discussion groups, and the full utilization of both the broadcast (radio and TV) and print media (Internet, ewspapers, magazines, books, etc).
The time has indeed arrived for Muslim nations to coordinate their efforts towards the development of a code of medical ethics based on ethical principles, namely respect for humans, beneficence, and where benefits outweigh harms and justice. These are necessary in view of latest developments in the field of medical research. |
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