Sociology

Have you ever wondered why the concept of fertility has brought about a great controversy in the world This is because the world religious views are different in relation to it. Additionally, the human reproduction field is one of the most extensively researched, since it relates directly to man. The differences in the religions mostly align themselves with the social values and the cultural beliefs that a certain society practices. Since different religions have different beliefs regarding fertility, social exclusion among societies has been the order of the day in the current years. This essay seeks to analyze the differences of the Islam, Judaism and the Christian religion as far as religious teachings on various concepts of reproduction are concerned.

Assisted reproduction
From the biblical times, there were women who were faced with problems of lack of children. God is revealed to be sensitive to all these cases, as he has always responded to the cry of the couples. A good example is that of Hannah as stated in 1 Samuel 1 in the Holy bible. Some Christian denominations are against the assisted form of productions such as sperm or egg donation, vitro fertilization, and use of a substitute mother (Whitney, 1996). Ordinarily in the Christian background, genetic heritage is of value. Similarly, spiritual and social heritage should also be put into practice. This is shown by scriptural references like the Levitical rule in the Old Testament. It states that when a man happens to die without getting a son, one of the biological brothers is supposed to inseminate the wife of the deceased so that his name may not be blotted out of Israel (Deut 256).This is seen as a direction from God in relation to sperm donation., so that the family lineage can go on. Therefore, assisted reproduction in the Old Testament is not condemned, as far as sperm donation is concerned (Whitney, 1996).

Additionally, Leah and Rachel in the Holy Bible had heirs gotten through their maids. This is compared to the surrogate mothers of today. Similarly, Abraham and Hagar produced an offspring as a result of the infertility of Sarah. God did not forbid this, even though there was rivalry afterwards (Whitney, 1996). 

In the New Testament, the Christians are supposed to deal with all things under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The couple should consider the type of assisted reproduction that they will undertake, and think carefully about the amount of ova that needs to be fertilized in the vitro fertilization process and how the remaining embryos will be disposed. The process of discarding the unused embryo is unbiblical as it does not value the Human life. Multiple pregnancies are another form of assisted reproduction which raises a lot of questions as far as reproduction is concerned. The process often leads to very many premature deaths. Therefore, it is not right to fertilize very many fetuses which will not survive. This is not different from taking away the human life, which is condemned (Whitney, 1996).

  The issue of social exclusion brings itself out carefully. This is because there are so many things that the medical world can do as far as assisted reproduction is concerned. All the beliefs of the medicine technology are not practiced by Christians. The medicine world has control over the eggs, sperm or embryos when replaced in the uterus. This is not the case with Christianity as God is said to be the sole controller of the human lives. The Christians who do not have children should trust in God, just like Abraham did and he was given a son, even after having grown old (Whitney, 1996).

The infertility issue has been addressed in the Islamic law, in the religions holy book, Quran, Surah 4249-50, to God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth He creates what He wills He bestows male or female, according to his will or He bestows both males and females and He leaves barren whom He will for He is full of knowledge and power (Ahmad, 2003). According to the Islamic law (Sharia), treating fertility is not a way of defying the will of God. However, it is a discovery of the truth by all human beings regarding the capability of any couple bearing a child. The act of seeking medical help for Islamic couples who have had problems in child bearing is very much encouraged. Such couples are seen to be supporting Gods message of creation. Assisted reproduction has to be in accordance with the Sharia law (Ahmad, 2003). 

The law is against any form of insemination, especially where the sperm of a man and an egg of a different woman other than the lawful wife are used. The law states that this act is not different from adultery. Therefore, it is seen as a very great and grievous crime. There are instances where sperms are preserved in refrigerators so that the wife can be impregnated upon the death of the husband (Ahmad, 2003). This is condemned by the Islamic law, because marriage in the Islamic religion is terminated once one of the spouses or all the spouses die. Additionally, it would deny the child the right of being brought up by both of his parents. The Sharia law condemns invitro fertilization, as it will lead to several of the cells being discarded, which is not in any way different from murder. When embryos are donated to a couple without children, it is a sin according to the Sharia law. This is because there is the involvement of a third party, who the husband would not be legally married to (Ahmad, 2003).

Judaism is not against all the types of assisted reproduction. This is however only when the sperm and the oocyte originate from the lawful husband and wife. The argument only lies on the real mother of the child. Otherwise, the whole process of surrogacy or sperm and oocyte donation is not condemned. There are several controversies on whether the child belongs to the gestating mother or the one who produces the oocyte. However, the Jewish law states that the real mother of a child borne from such a circumstance belongs to the one who contributed the oocyte (Corington  Burns, 2006). 

Cloning
The Christian religion has a stand as far as cloning is concerned. To start with, all the human beings are created in Gods image. Therefore, they are the unique forms of creation. In regard to this, the life of the human beings should be valued and not treated as a commodity. The cloning process has been supported by those people who need transplants of some organs in the body, which have no donors. It is believed that once cloning is used to replace damaged organs in a human body, there are fewer chances of the organ being rejected. This process is however met with a lot of controversy because the life of the human being appears to be reduce and cheapened (Got Questions, 2010).

When the organs are being made, there has to be a mass destruction of the cells. All these cells are seen to go to waste, therefore denying the cells a chance to reach the maturity level. The societys beliefs exclude those of the bible. Several people believe that life never begins at conception. This is not true according to the Christians. This is because the bible has stated in Psalms 13913-16, For you created my inmost being you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Got Questions, 2010).

David declares that God knew him right from conception. Additionally, prophet Isaiah states that he was called by God when he was still in the womb of his mother, Isaiah 491-5. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost when he was in the womb of his mother Elizabeth. All these scriptures support the fact that life begins at conception. Therefore, cloning is not only against the cultural and social values of Christianity, but also excludes the advancement of technology as a field which is not God ordained (Got Questions, 2010).

The religion and the traditions of the Jews support any form of embryonic research. According to Judaism, moral status is never ascribed to a developing embryo until it has gone through forty days of fertilization. The Jewish religion has a social value of saving the human lives. Therefore, they are in full support of cloning in cases where new organs are required. They also believe strongly that the embryonic stem cell lines are important as they lead to the healing of various diseases, like some types of cancer (Levine, 2009).

This is not different form the Islamic religion. The leaders of the Islamic religion believe that the derivation of human embryos so as to develop other organs is not harmful. This is because they are in full support for the saving of lives. It is only when the fetus reaches the later stages of development that it is referred to as a legal person. In 2003, the Islamic support of cloning led to very successful stem cell lines in Iran (Levine, 2009).

Abortion
 The way the Islamic religion approaches the issues on abortion is very complex. When a fetus has not yet reached a point of having a soul, it is referred to as a mere lump of tissue and blood. Therefore, getting rid of such is not a sin. However, when the child is expelled after being fully developed, it is a great sin, which is referred to as infanticide. The Holy Quaran has strongly condemned the act of infanticide (wad).The book states that in the judgment day the infant girl buried alive is asked of the claim she was slain (818) (Suad  Afsaneh, 2006).Abortion of a fully developed child is also related to killing children, and it is strongly condemned. Do not kill that which God has made sacred except for just cause (Suad  Afsaneh, 2006). Once the fetus is developing, there is an angel who is sent to the developing child so as to breathe the gift of life to the baby. The Islamic religion excludes itself from abortion which is supported by feminist movements. It states that the life of a human being is so valuable, and therefore there has to be a strong reason to justify its cause (Suad  Afsaneh, 2006).

The Old Testament of the bible has got no open teaching which regards to abortion. Therefore, the attitudes of the Jews towards the concept of abortion is based on the insights of the Jewish teachers (rabbis).The rabbis have also been known to argue on when or not abortion should be considered as wrong. Most of them state that once the fetus has fully developed, then it is very illegal to terminate it. This raises a great controversy, because the Jews believe that life is sacred and all the human beings have been created in Gods image. The Jewish law states that all the couples should give birth to at least two children. If they do not have the ability of getting their own children, they are supposed to adopt. The Jews place more emphasis on the mothers life. Therefore, if any danger is seen, the mothers life should be saved first (Religious Studies, 2010).

There are certain cultural beliefs that define the legality of abortion in the life of the Jews. If men who are fighting happen to hit a pregnant woman accidentally, and the woman gives birth to a premature baby, the offender is supposed to be fined all what the woman asks for. However, if there is any kind of serious injury, there has to be revenge, as stated in the old testament in the book of Exodus eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, burn for burn, wound for wound and bruise for bruise (Religious Studies, 2010).

The rabbinic law continues to state that If a pregnant womans labor becomes life threatening, it is permitted to dismember the fetus in her abdomen, either through medication or by hand, for it is like an assailant pursuing her in order to kill her. Therefore, abortion should be treated as a way of defending one self any time the mothers health is at risk (Religious Studies, 2010).

The Christians have diverse beliefs in regard to abortion. The Roman Catholics believe that the human life starts at conception. They claim that the fetus is a full human being which has got all the rights to live. Additionally, Catholicism claims that the biblical teachings on the life of man relates to the fetus. The sixth commandment, Do not Kill is a strong support of this. If the parents, especially a mother of a certain child has no ability of bringing up the child, the child should be given out for adoption. The life of a human being is sacred because it is created by God (Religious Studies, 2010).

The Anglicans and the Methodists believe that the life of a baby begins when he or she has a chance to survive independently without the help of the mother. If the mother is in danger, she has a right to procure an abortion. Also, conception through rape has all the justifications for abortion. An organization known as The Christians For Free Choice believes that the conscience of the woman is the factor that determines whether abortion should be procured or not. This conscience is guided by God. The decision to keep or terminate the pregnancy depends on the willingness of the woman (Two paths, 2010).

Abortion has not been mentioned anywhere in the bible. Infanticide, abortion and abandonment were allowed under the Roman law. However, it has been practiced in the human history records. There are several biblical verses which show that the human life is valued. A good evidence is the events that preceded the birth of Jesus and the John the Baptist. The baby in the womb of Elizabeth leaped when Mary mother of Jesus visited her (Two paths, 2010).

Generally, there are several people who have serious and deep doubts regarding the morality of abortion. Abortion is regarded to be less serious as far as other crimes are concerned. There are several situations which are used to justify abortion, including teenage pregnancy, rape, incest and a defective fetus. Additionally, mental retardation, unstable families and emotional health also leads to abortion (Two paths, 2010).

Conclusion
From the discussion above, it is evident that the topic of fertility has evoked a lot of controversy. That is why there is a high level of exclusion in societies today as far as religious beliefs are concerned. This is because they practice all the social values that are defined by their different societies. All the same, all the religions in the world should ensure that the life of man comes first as far as fertility is concerned.