In the Name of God, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful

Dr. Seyyed Hussein Fattahi MaasoumDepartment of the Thoracic surgery

Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of medical sciences

IRAN

Introduction :

After Islamic revolution in Iran, Islamic rules are attended as the main category for legistation at all levels. By consideration it was necessary that Islam's views to be considered in medical subjects as well, therefore I and my colleagues at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences decided to hold seminars as the title (Islam's views in medicine) with participation of medical and Islamic scholars for finding out Islam replies to new subjects.

1.The first Seminar in the March 1990 Mashhad University of Medical

Sciences held the first seminar or "Islam's views in medicine" in

Mashhad, with the following aims:

1. To raise problems faced by medical professionals and health care providers for Muslim jurists in order to seek religious rulings based on normative legal-ethical sources acceptable to the community.

2. To evaluate medical subjects in details that are appropriate to increase the understanding of Muslim jurists in the field of medicine.

3. To introduce Islamic perspectives in the field of medical practice.

4. To provide suggestions and clues for the health care providers and professionals.

5. To explain major Islamic principles of medical ethics.6. To reviewing the contribution of Islamic civilization in

the field of medicine.7. To work towards better understanding and interaction

among Moslem physicians.

The Seminar covered following topics to achieve its stated goals:

1. Medical Ethics and its Scope in Islam2. Sources of Medical Sciences and its contributions in

Islamic Civilization.3. Evaluation of legal-ethical rulings pertaining to medicine,

including the subjects related to: A. Anatomy, organ transplantation, legal penalties and

compensation (diyat), legal punishments (hodod) and retributions (qisas) in medical profession;

B. Marriage under different diseases, family planning (contraception), abortion;

C. Medical diagnosis and laboratory tests, drugs and drug administration;

D. Dentistry and related questions to dental care.

2. The second Seminar was held in March 1997. The main topics were as

the following:

1. to follow up the first seminars' results and conclusions in order to propose new subjects in biomedical ethics

2. to seek juridical rulings for new questions in medical practice

3. to present relevant solutions for removing impediments in medical practice

i. review of the important Islamic rulings in medicine:

1. Rulings related to transplantation1) harvesting organs for transplantation

2) living will for organ donation

3) responding to major difficulties in transplantation of different organs

The following topics were taken up for assessment and discussion:

ii. rulings related to legal penalties and compensation (diyat), punishment (hudud) and retribution (qisas) in medical profession:

1) the problems related to general education in the medical centers and universities in biomedical ethics.

2) the relationship between therapeutic/clinically induced damages and Islamic penal code

iii. rulings related to abortion

iv. rulings related to family planning and contraception

v. rulings related to marriage under different medical conditions

vi. rulings related to drugs and prescriptions

vii. rulings related to anatomy

1. for educational purpose

2. for diagnosis

3. for investigating a crime

viii. making university environment compatible ix. legal-ethical resolution of the problems

that are dependent on medical expertise: 1) problem related to women2) problems related to marriage under special

medical conditions3) problems related to hereditary diseases,

hermaphrodites4) problems related to mental illnesses

x. medical Ethics and History of Medicine in Iran

3. third Seminar on Islamic perspectives in medicine-

March 4-6, 2003

First category: 1. studying Islamic perspectives in

medical affairs(In continuation of previous seminars)

1. organ transplant2. abortion3. cloning4. psychic diseases and its spectrum of social

disorders5. marriage under various diseases6. anatomy in its various aspects7. brain death8. medical research and educational affairs

9. women's affairs (three temperaments)

2. legal Affair in Medicine

1. rights of patients in the medical system of the country

2. rights of physicians, students and other medical workers

3. rights of individuals in medical research 4. rights of embryo in abortion5. rights of patients in incurable diseases

3. legal penalties and Compensation and time Requisites

1) role of medicine in new view on legal penalties and compensations (new medical definitions, damages incurred, compensation and determining volume of damages)

2) studying new subjects in legal penalties and compensations (expert-level views on legal penalties and compensations [four forbidden months]-curability of incurred damages, organ value, and occupational value, spiritual value of individuals, extra compensation losses and vice versa ...

3) studying psychological factors in legal penalties and compensations

4)studying issues related to medical profession in legal punishments and retributions

Second Category:

1. medical Economy

1. religious substructure of medical economy and the issue of medical tariffs and rates

2. medical insurance and Islamic perspectives

3. role of government in medical tariffs, pharmaceutics and laboratory, ...

4. role of inflation and price rises in medical economy

Third Category:

1. role of Muslim Physicians in the Dialogue Among Civilizations

1. Medical ethics and views of Islam and other civilizations

2. History and medical professionals in the history of Islam and Iran

3. Legal-ethical resolution of the problems that are dependent on medical expertise

Fourth Category:

1. Studying Islamic medicine and comparing and contrasting old and new treatment methods

2. Medical ethics and its future prospect in the country

Conclusion:After Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979), we held three

Scientific seminars on Islamic view point on Medicine, in which University and Huza scientist and scholars presented their views and comments in the fields of ethics, humanity and legal challenges in Islamic and Medicine, These discussions resulted in solving important problems such as:

Human anatomy, Organ Transplantation, Therapeutic Abortion, IVF (In Vitro Fertilization), Embryon Gifting, and we could achieve legal licensure and indication for them.

Now we are planning to challenge other topics; Clononing, Euthanasia, Diat Order (compensation) and bilateral rights of Doctors and Patients, in both Islam's views and medicine.

Dr. S.H. Fattahi Maasoom

Ghaem Hospital

Fax: 05118409612

Web: www.mums.ac.ir/sivm

Email: sivm@mums.ac.ir