Through my engagement in the discussion about reproductive ethics in the Middle East, I found many conversation points fascinating, specifically regarding artificial reproductive technologies (ART) in countries with large muslim populations. As someone with some knowledge of ART, it fascinates me that Islam as a religion both permits and encourages infertile families to utilize these methods when infertility is present. Their focus on preservation of their genetic lineage was particularly fascinating as the sunni are adamant about not allowing a third party (sperm/egg donor) assist in attaining a successful pregnancy. In Islam, a marriage is very confined to the two partners and a third party intervention of any kind, regardless of the intentions, is greatly frowned upon. As I have an adopted sister, I was a little disappointed to find out that Islam frowns on adoption of a child outside of the genetic lineage. While they do accept long term arrangements for foster care, I feel that the inability to legally adopt would be detrimental to the child as they could feel segregated from the family that raised them.