Fatwa encourages Muslim families to use donor milk

Muslim families in Minnesota are encouraged via religious clarification to use donor breast milk for babies who are in intensive care. The Minnesota Islamic Council on Thursday will issue a fatwa, or a religious clarification, to encourage the use of pasteurized donor human breast milk for babies, specifically babies who are preterm, low birth or ill, when a mother's breast milk isn't available, a press release says. This is believed to be the first-of-its-kind Islamic fatwa in the United States, and is a milestone for helping bridge the disparity among babies in Minnesota, the release states.