Alaro warns against unethical reproductive practices, call for framework to protect family
By Abubakar Imam
The Director of the Quality Assurance Unit, University of Ilorin, Prof. AbdulRazzaq Abdulmajeed Alaro, mni, has said that every effort must be made to ensure that scientific innovation operates within appropriate ethical, religious and legal boundaries.
Prof. Alaro made this call while speaking at a webinar on gene editing, IVF and surrogacy last Tuesday (October 20, 2026) organised by the Ilorin Emirate Professors’ Association (IEPA).
He explained that Islamic jurisprudence recognises legitimate medical treatment, but maintains specific conditions for the use of assisted reproductive technologies.
Prof. Alaro, who is also a former Head of the Department of Islamic Law, University of Ilorin, said that the mainstream Sunni Islamic position generally permits IVF where the sperm and egg belong to a legally married couple and the resulting embryo is transferred to the wife during the subsistence of the marriage.
He, however, noted that the use of donor sperm, donor eggs, donor embryos and surrogacy is generally prohibited under the position adopted by major contemporary Islamic jurisprudential bodies, particularly because of concerns about lineage, parentage, inheritance and family identity.
Prof..Alaro also distinguished between gene-editing interventions intended to treat serious diseases and those aimed at enhancing non-medical traits.
He said therapeutic interventions may be considered permissible under appropriate conditions, while heritable germline editing and non-medical genetic enhancement raise serious ethical and religious concerns.
Beyond religious considerations, the Professor of Islamic Law highlighted the social consequences of infertility, including stigma, marital pressure and the disproportionate burden often placed on women.
He warned that the commercialisation of reproductive services, coupled with weak safeguards, could create opportunities for exploitation, trafficking and other abuses.
Prof. Alaro also raised questions about the legal status of children born through assisted reproductive technologies, particularly in relation to parentage, custody, maintenance, inheritance and the protection of genetic information.
The renowned cleric-don called for a comprehensive national legal framework to regulate assisted reproductive technologies and emerging genomic interventions in Nigeria.
According to him, such a framework should provide for the licensing and inspection of fertility clinics, transparent reporting of treatment outcomes, informed consent, accurate identification and handling of reproductive materials, and effective protection of patients’ personal and genetic data.
He further recommended collaboration between medical experts, legal practitioners, religious scholars and policymakers to develop regulations that reflect scientific evidence while addressing Nigeria’s ethical, cultural and social realities.
In his welcome address, the President of IEPA, Prof. Abdul Kabir Hussain Solihu, said scientific advancement must be accompanied by ethical reflection, social responsibility and respect for human dignity.
Prof. Solihu, who teaches at the Kwara State University, Malete, stressed the importance of balancing scientific innovation with ethical and religious considerations.
“Our goal is not to reject progress, but to ensure that progress remains anchored in moral clarity and Islamic values,” he said.
