Article Sidebar

Submitted
November 22, 2025
Accepted
February 3, 2026
Published
April 7, 2026
Download
Statistic
Read Counter : 5

Main Article Content

Abstract

This study explores surrogacy through the lenses of both international human rights and Islamic law, with particular attention to women’s reproductive rights, human dignity, and the well-being of children. As a modern reproductive practice, surrogacy raises complex ethical, legal, and religious questions. Although international human rights instruments do not explicitly regulate surrogacy, they emphasize principles such as autonomy, privacy, and gender equality, which support women’s freedom in reproductive decision-making. Islamic law, by contrast, approaches the issue differently within its two main traditions: Sunni and Shia. Sunni scholars generally prohibit surrogacy to safeguard lineage, preserve family integrity, and prevent the exploitation of women, while Shia scholars permit it under carefully defined conditions. Despite these distinctions, both frameworks share a common concern for protecting women’s dignity and preventing abuse. By examining the intersections and divergences between them, this study aims to illuminate the ethical, legal, and cultural complexities surrounding surrogacy, particularly in societies where religious and international legal systems coexist. This study argues that although both Islamic law and international human rights invoke human dignity in regulating surrogacy, neither framework fully resolves the tension between women’s reproductive autonomy and structural vulnerability, resulting in persistent risks of exploitation. However, farming human dignity either primarily as reproductive autonomy or as moral containment fails to fully address the structural inequalities that shape women’s participation in surrogacy arrangements.

Article Details

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Fareshta Heidari

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Heidari, F. (2026). Human Dignity and Women’s Rights in Surrogacy A Comparative Analysis of Islamic and International Human Rights Perspectives. Indonesian Journal of Interdisciplinary Islamic Studies (IJIIS), 8(2). https://doi.org/10.20885/ijiis.vol8.iss2.art3
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX

References

  1. Abu-Rabia, Aref. “Infertility and Surrogacy in Islamic Society: Socio-Cultural, Psychological,Ethical, and Religious Dilemmas.” The Open Psychology Journal 6, no. 1 (September 2013): 54–60. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874350101306010054.
  2. Alfahmi, Manal Z. “Justification for Requiring Disclosure of Diagnoses and Prognoses to Dying Patients in Saudi Medical Settings: A Maqasid Al-Shariah-Based Islamic Bioethics Approach.” BMC Medical Ethics 23 (July 2022): 72. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-022-00808-6.
  3. Ansari, Aneeqa, and Dr Sadia Saeed. “A Comprehensive Examination of Surrogacy within the Islamic Framework.” GUMAN 6, no. 4 (December 2023): 458–72. https://doi.org/10.63075/guman.v6i4.680.
  4. Bracken, Lydia. “Prohibiting Commercial Surrogacy in Ireland.” International Journal of Law, Policy and The Family 39, no. 1 (January 2025): ebae024. https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebae024.
  5. Deomampo, Daisy. “Transnational Surrogacy in India: Interrogating Power and Women’s Agency.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 34, no. 3 (2013): 167–88. https://doi.org/10.5250/fronjwomestud.34.3.0167.
  6. Fadhilah, Nur, Ahmad Musonnif, and Muhammad Nurravi Alamsyah. “Reconciling Surrogacy with Islamic Ethics: Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa, Ijtihad, and Contemporary Legal Debates.” Sakina: Journal of Family Studies 9, no. 2 (May 2025): 165–86. https://doi.org/10.18860/jfs.v9i2.15157.
  7. ———. “Reconciling Surrogacy with Islamic Ethics: Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa, Ijtihad, and Contemporary Legal Debates.” Sakina: Journal of Family Studies 9, no. 2 (May 2025): 165–86. https://doi.org/10.18860/jfs.v9i2.15157.
  8. Forum, Canopy. “‘Human Rights, Human Dignity and Personal Autonomy: A Reflection on David Little’s Theory of Self-Defense and Organic Unity’ by Mark Hill QC.” Canopy Forum, June 24, 2020. https://canopyforum.org/2020/06/24/human-rights-human-dignity-and-personal-autonomy/.
  9. Gozdecka, Dorota Anna. Backlash or Widening the Gap? Women’s Reproductive Rights in the Twenty-First Century. 9, no. 1 (2020): 8.
  10. Hathout, Maher. “Surrogacy: An Islamic Perspective.” Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America 21, no. 3 (July 1989). https://doi.org/10.5915/21-3-13364.
  11. Holy Quran. “Surah Al-Isra - 70.” Quran.Com. Accessed November 1, 2025. https://quran.com/al-isra/70.
  12. ʻAlwānī, Ṭāhā Jābir Fayyāḍ. Uṣūl al Fiqh al Islāmī: Source Methodology in Islamic Jurisprudence: Methodology for Research and Knowledge. English ed. Research Monographs / the International Institute of Islamic Thought, no. 1. Herndon, Va. USA: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1990.
  13. Iliadou, Marianna. “Title: International Surrogacy and Stateless Children: Article 7 UNCRC and the Harmful Effects of Statelessness.” Law, Social Justice & Global Development (LSJGD) / Amicus Curiae, 2, vol. 5, no. 3 (2024): 474–92.
  14. Islam, Sharmin, Rusli Bin Nordin, Ab Rani Bin Shamsuddin, Hanapi Bin Mohd Nor, and Abu Kholdun Al-Mahmood. “Ethics of Surrogacy: A Comparative Study of Western Secular and Islamic Bioethics.” The Journal of IMA 44, no. 1 (April 2013): 44-1–5920. https://doi.org/10.5915/44-1-5920.
  15. Karimullah, Suud Sarim. “Children’s Rights in Islam: Towards Gender Equality and Youth Justice.” Muadalah 11, no. 2 (December 2023): 87–98. https://doi.org/10.18592/muadalah.v11i2.11113.
  16. Khan, Nasiruddin Haider. “Challenging Myths and Misconceptions : Communicating Women’s Rights in Islam (Reproductive Health and Islam).” Population Council 5, no. 2 (2012). https://www.muslimsocieties.org/Vol5_2/Research_Report.pdf.
  17. Kitaoka, Kumiko. “Reproductive Privacy in the World: Critical Examination of June Medical Services, L.L.C. v. Russo and Buck v. Bell.” Washington and Lee University School of Law 28, no. 1 (2022).
  18. Lasker, Shamima Parvin, and Marcello Ghilardi. “Genetic Gestational Surrogacy: Hope for Muslims.” Bangladesh Journals Online (BanglaJOL) 8, no. 3 (February 2018). https://doi.org/10.3329/bioethics.v8i3.35607.
  19. Lauren, Danielowski. “Reproduction as Work: Addressing a Gap in Current Economic Rights Discourses.” Health and Human Rights Journal 25, no. 2 (2023). https://www.hhrjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2//2023/12/danielowski.pdf.
  20. Lisette Frohn, Richard Blauwhoff. “International Commercial Surrogacy Arrangements: The Interests of the Child as a Concern of Both Human Rights and Private International Law | SpringerLink.” 2016. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6265-088-6_10.
  21. Liu, I. Hsuan, and Chumphorn Pachusanond. “The Human Rights of the Stateless Surrogate-Born Child under the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (CRC).” Thammasat Business Law Journal 8 (December 2018): 257–71.
  22. Mehfooz, Musferah, Asma Imran, and Sarah Azhar. “An Overview of the Underlying Legal and Psychological Issues of Surrogacy in Islam | Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews.” Maya Global Education Society (MGES) 10, no. 3 (2022): 23–28. https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2022.1033.
  23. Mia Dambach and Cécile Jeannin. Policy Brief 1: Respecting the Child’s Right to Identity in Intercountry Adoption – Child Identity Protection. 2021. https://www.child-identity.org/policy-brief-1-respecting-the-childs-right-to-identity-in-intercountry-adoption/.
  24. Mozaffari, Mohammad Hossein. “Human Dignity: An Islamic Perspective.” Ekmat Quarterly Journal: An International Journal of Academic Research 4, no. 4 (2011).
  25. Nadeem, Muhammad Tayyeb, Fouzia Ayub, and Ihsanullah Chishti. “Exploring The Status of Surrogacy: An Islamic Juridical Review.” Acta-Islamica 10, no. 1 (June 2022): 1–18.
  26. ———. “Exploring The Status of Surrogacy: An Islamic Juridical Review.” Acta-Islamica 10, no. 1 (June 2022): 1–18.
  27. Naser Makarem Shirazi. “Surrogacy ruling.” April 6, 2025. https://makarem.ir/ahkam/fa/category/index/46939/%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85-%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C.
  28. Nations, United. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” United Nations, United Nations. Accessed April 27, 2025. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
  29. ———. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” United Nations, United Nations. Accessed November 1, 2025. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
  30. Panitch, Vida. “Global Surrogacy: Exploitation to Empowerment.” Journal of Global Ethics 9, no. 3 (December 2013): 329–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449626.2013.818390.
  31. Petra de Sutter. “PACE Website.” 2019. https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-EN.asp?fileid=27680.
  32. Rina, Novia. “Surrogacy Practices in the Legal Dilemma of the Reproductive Technology Era in Indonesia.” USRATY: Journal of Islamic Family Law 3, no. 1 (2025): 63–74. https://doi.org/10.30983/usraty.v3i1.9085.
  33. Rudolf, Beate, and Andrea Eriksson. “Women’s Rights under International Human Rights Treaties: Issues of Rape, Domestic Slavery, Abortion, and Domestic Violence.” International Journal of Constitutional Law 5, no. 3 (July 2007): 507–25. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/mom022.
  34. Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi. Marriage and Morals in Islam. 2nd Edition (Revised). Scarborough, Ontario, Canada: Islamic Education & Information Centre, 1990. https://najaf.org/books/pdf/233.pdf.
  35. Sinanaj, Nensi. “The Right to Dignity of the Surrogate Mother.” University of Bologna Law Review 6, no. 2 (2021): 261–86. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2531-6133/14253.
  36. ———. “The Right to Dignity of the Surrogate Mother.” University of Bologna Law Review 6, no. 2 (2021): 261–86. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2531-6133/14253.
  37. Siti Sahnia Mammenasa Daeng Yusuf, Akbarizan, Akmal Abdul Munir, and M Reza Fahlevi. “Women’s Reproductive Rights (Comparative Family Planning in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkiye) in Islamic Perspective.” Universitas Muhammadiyah Riau 18, no. 1 (2025): 54–64.
  38. “Surrogacy Laws By State - Legal Professional Group.” 2024. https://connect.asrm.org/lpg/resources/surrogacy-by-state?ssopc=1&utm_source=chatgpt.com.
  39. Terec-Vlad, Loredana. “Surrogacy in the Context of Reproductive Rights.” European Journal of Law and Public Administration 10, no. 2 (December 2023): 34–45. -. https://doi.org/10.18662/eljpa/10.2/207.
  40. Triviño-Caballero, Rosana. “Caring for Delivery: Healthcare Professionals’ Ethical Conflicts in Surrogate Pregnancy.” Hypatia 38, no. 3 (2023): 531–48. https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2023.67.
  41. United Nations. “CEDAW 29th Session 30 June to 25 July 2003.” 1979. https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/text/econvention.htm.
  42. ———. “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).” United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 1979. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/cedaw.pdf?
  43. ———. “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.” OHCHR, 1996. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights.
  44. ———. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” United Nations, New York, 1948. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights?
  45. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. “Report of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo, 5–13 September 1994.” United Nations, 1995. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_CONF.171_13.pdf.
  46. United Nations General Assembly. “Convention on the Rights of the Child.” OHCHR, November 20, 1989. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child.
  47. ———. “International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.” OHCHR, 1966. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-economic-social-and-cultural-rights.
  48. United Nations General Assembly resolution. “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women New York, 18 December 1979.” OHCHR, December 18, 1979. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-elimination-all-forms-discrimination-against-women.
  49. Vahed Bakhsh Shanbe Zehi, Zeinab Sancholi, and Saeed Sharafuddin Tabatabai. “Jurisprudential Analysis of Surrogacy from the Perspective of theFive Islamic Schools of Thought and Islamic Law.” Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran 4, no. 2 (2025): 1–10.
  50. Wade, Katherine. “The Regulation of Surrogacy: A Children’s Rights Perspective.” Child and Family Law Quarterly 29, no. 2 (June 2017): 113–31.
  51. Yannis Bonnet. “Surrogacy in France: A Summary of the Situation.” National Documentation Centre (EKT), Greece 7, no. 2 (2021). https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/BIOETHICA/article/view/2653.