Knowledge and attitude towards surrogacy in medical students of Yarsi university and its review in the views of Islam

Abstract

Background: According to Clara Watson, surrogacy is the practice of a woman bearing a child for another woman with the aim of giving the baby to its biological mother on birth. One of the reasons for surrogacy is the person preferring to be single while wanting to have a baby of his/her own. The practice is prevalent abroad. Some countries have prohibited surrogacy while few others have legalized it. In the view of Islam, the practice is forbidden. Purpose: To know the knowledge and attitude of Medical Students of YARSI University class of 2015 about surrogacy. Method: The research method used was descriptive crosssectional study. Purposive sampling method was used for this purpose. Result: A total of 180 students participated in the study. The results of knowledge regarding surrogate mother were good (27.2%), knowledgeable enough (51.1%), less knowledgeable (27.2%) and the majority (52.8%) had an attitude not approving of the practice of surrogate mother. Conclusion: In this research the majority of students from the Medical Faculty, YARSI University class of 2015 had sufficient knowledge and an attitude that is not approving of the practice of surrogate mother. In the Islamic view, all forms of surrogate mother are forbidden. Surrogacy by sperm or ovum donation from another person or a husband who has died is forbidden because it will cause nasal (family lineage) mixing and will trigger a dispute that is not in accordance with Islamic law.