Article 4 of the Saudi Fertility Units Law

This article ties infertility treatment to the existence of the marital relationship, and contains three rulings:

1. Confirmation before starting: it must be confirmed that an existing marital relationship exists before starting treatment.
2. Prohibition after the marriage ends: fertilizing any egg of the wife with the husband's sperm after divorce or death is prohibited.
3. The doctor's duty: when divorce or death occurs, the doctor must stop fertilization and insemination procedures.

It is therefore not enough that the marital relationship exists at the start of treatment; it must remain in existence during fertilization. If divorce or death occurs during the stages of treatment, fertilization and insemination must be stopped. This is consistent with the definition of infertility in Article 1 as a delay in pregnancy for a couple "within an existing marital relationship", and with the definition of the zygote as the egg fertilized by the husband's sperm cell.

This article follows Article 3, which binds units to the fatwas of the Council of Senior Scholars, and precedes Article 5, which prohibits implanting a fertilized egg from a couple in the uterus of another wife or another woman, insemination with sperm from someone other than the husband, and fertilizing an egg of someone other than the wife.

Because divorce and death are matters with family and legal consequences, anyone facing such a situation would be well advised to consult a lawyer specializing in health regulations or a lawyer specializing in personal status.