IVF is a contentious technology in some Muslim countries. In Dubai, there are complaints from doctors that the fertility business is more tightly regulated than in the rest of United Arab Emirates. Private clinics there are banned from offering IVF to couples, giving a government fertility centre a monopoly on the procedure. The government recently insisted that any clinics offering IVF would be immediately closed down. Private clinics are limited to treating women who find it difficult to conceive with fertility drugs and surgery.

The issue, explains an official for the Dubai Health Authority, is that doctors who do not share Islamic values might be tempted to allow a woman to become pregnant by a man other than her husband, which should be considered adultery. "From an ethical point of view, there are special precautions which could not be easily controlled by private clinics, as the emirates are multinational. The Government needs more control, which is why IVF is still banned in Dubai." ~ The National, Aug 30