A matter of life and death
Do people have the right to die, get or donate an organ or abort an unborn baby? As bioethical challenges grow, our society is still entangled in the moral and legal debates
By Raheela Zafar

Invention and discovery run deep in the blood of mankind. There is no era in the history that has remained barren in this regard, but in the present age the advancement in technology is much more rapid than at any other time. It can be estimated from the fact that the number of patent applications in the US is close to half a million a year.

But technology also brings challenges and questions that need satisfactory answers which are sometimes hard on souls. That is the point from where the role of a genuine philosopher begins.

The woman and her brothers were literally fearful in the reception of a private hospital in Defense Housing Society, Lahore, in 2000. Their 95-years-old mother was in coma and on her death bed, her progeny from near and far off places had gathered to voice their tender feelings. They had come, leaving behind their children and wives, their jobs, their assignments. Doctors had told them that the patient’s existing condition could drag from a few days to many years. The family was genuinely fearful, not of death but fearful of the life that is worse than hundred deaths — the machine-bound life, that is increasingly becoming a mark of modern technologies.

Who is to decide the future of the old woman and for how long this machine operated life will continue? May be as long as the wealthy children will be able to pay for the bills? But is there any moral obligation on them to make this purchase, when a lot of deserving patients with high possibilities of survival will not be able to get it because of her? Did the patient give her consent to live her last days in a machine?

In 2006, the fair complexioned round faced student of mine was not fortunate. She was FSc student in Defense Degree College, Lahore. She suffered kidney failure at the age of 13. Once she told me that when her father advertised for a kidney donor their doorbell kept ringing the whole day by the skimpy figures desirous to sell their kidney… to buy some medicine for their loved one, to wed off their daughter, or by the addicts who wanted to push themselves for few more days.

“Teacher”, she told me her story after the transplanting surgery, “it was my father’s first experience dealing with the buying of an organ from a living needy donor. We were totally baffled. We kept asking for the rules and sought answers from ulema but it was of no use. There were no answers to many questions that lurked in our minds; are we doing the right act by depriving one individual from his vital organ? Finally, we had to turn to our judgment.”

The right to die (euthanasia) and the right to get or donate an organ are two selected examples from a series of very complicated issues related to advancement in medicine and other life sciences, (bioethical issues) which the technologically advanced societies are confronting these days. For instance, the western world is confronting the bioethical issues from 1970. And presently, they have a long list — surrogate motherhood, stem cell research, spiritual drug use, cloning, reproductive rights, body modifications, artificial life and many more. This never ending list keeps on growing with every passing day.

In contrast, the Muslim world in general and our country in particular is in an embryonic state technologically, and hence faces comparatively simpler issues like contraception, population control, euthanasia, organ transplant/donation, and abortion. But unfortunately, this list is bound to grow as we too are a part of the growing global village.

For example, India has the greatest network that provides services for surrogate motherhood. With the continual efforts to normalise relations between the two countries, and the open trade policies, I don’t see how we will be able to stop the childless couples from the allure of parenthood and availing the services of Indian surrogate mothers, donors and the doctors.

Regarding abortion, the world’s best brains have not come out yet with a satisfactory solution acceptable to all. Arguments from both sides — pro-life and pro-choice — are equally enthusiastic. In poor countries like Pakistan where guidance and female education is scanty, it is not surprising that there are chains of clinics that carry out abortions illegally by untrained hands resulting in serious medical complications, sometimes even death. Can it be stopped? Can we think about some ways to distinguish one case from the other?

The most challenging aspect of bioethics is that every society will have to seek its own solution from theology, politics, law and moral philosophy and find answers by interaction and discussion with all stakeholders and get them settled before they get too tangled and harsh on our souls and bodies.

It is the moral duty of our intellectuals, religious scholars, social workers, reformers and politicians to debate and research the life-changing issues, and guide the masses, keeping in mind our culture, mindset, literacy standards, and the intimacy with which we live with our religion. The western models can be used for guidance and direction but can’t be followed blindly as their set of priorities is different from ours.

The points worth considering are to separate the immoral from the illegal, as what is immoral is not necessarily illegal. We normally consider divorce as immoral but it is not illegal, similarly abortion in some particular cases could be illegal but it is not always immoral.

(The writer is an academician with a specialisation in biological sciences)