Re: Surrogacy
Since the concept of surrogacy was not even a concept in the time of Mohammad and the writing of the Koran (or any other Holy book)...it is really up to the interpretation and interpreters as to whether it would be ok or not. In the majority of surrogacy cases, a woman's egg is fertilized with her husbands sperm. The fertilized egg is allowed to develop into an embryo. Once it has been deemed to be a viable embryo, it is implanted into a surrogate who has the ability to carry the child to term. There are some variations on this - ie., "donor egg" or "donor sperm" but those cases are incredibly more complex so lets leave those out for the moment and take a look at what the objections are regarding the simplest and most common case (a surrogate carrying the child produced by another woman and her spouse):
Some Islaamic scholars say (as copied from above):
According to the rules of Shari`ah, surrogate motherhood as described above is not allowed, since it involves introducing the sperm of a male into the uterus of a woman to whom he is not married and, thus, it clearly falls under the specific category of transgressing the bounds of Allah as stated in the Qur’an: **Those who guard their private parts except from their spouses…* (Al-Mu’minun: 5). “Whosoever goes beyond that are indeed transgressors” (Al-Mu’minun 23: 7).*
This can be argued. Once a sperm has fertilized an egg, it is no longer a sperm. It becomes a fetus. And since a woman can breastfeed another woman's infant and actually receives blessings for doing so, then the concept of carrying a child isnt so very different.
Also quoted from scholars:
By introducing a third party into the family equation, this procedure throws into confusion the issue of the identity of the child. In Islam, every child has a right to a definite parentage, namely, that of a father and mother. In the case of surrogate motherhood, the question arises as to the identity of the real mother of the child thus conceived. Is she the genetic mother who provides the egg from which the child is born, or is she the woman whose womb serves as a carrier for the child? Such confusion is bound to affect the child emotionally as he will be torn between two mothers. Further, it may also lead to legal fights over the parentage of the child, as happened in the United States in the case of a child thus conceived in 1987.
With the advent of DNA technology, the determination of parentage is no longer a mystery and leaves no doubt. This technology was not available in 1987. Further, when a woman breastfeeds the child of another woman, she is deemed to be a "special aunt" or something like that. Carrying the child of another couple is also similar.
Also stated by the scholars:
Finally, the entire procedure amounts to dehumanizing the process of human procreation by reducing womb down to the level of a commodity that can be bought or rented for service. Ultimately, such a process, yet again, violates the dignity and honor that Allah Almighty has bestowed on man and woman.
This is a matter of opinion yeah? Just as a mother may need a wet-nurse if her own milk dries up...she may need another woman to carry her child. The woman who acts as the surrogate surely brings vast blessings to the couple and the couple who is now able to have a child surely does not see the surrogate as a "commodity". I'd think they;d view the surrogate as a blessing of the highest magnitude.
So...anyway. My point here is that none of the religions of the world were founded with all of this science in mind. And each religion has to make their interpretations with that in mind. I dont see how there can be a final answer here since everyone interprets things in their own way.