Article: The Islamic Republic of Baby-Making by Azadeh Moaveni
Summary: The only revolutionary moves Iran ends up in the news for are ones where bloodshed and fanaticism are the centerpieces, but the country’s relatively progressive fertility laws are what take center stage in this piece. Iran’s primary health care and family planning have long served as good examples of effective health policy, dropping population growth (a bit too far since Iran finds itself below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman). This article focuses on Iran’s controversial fertility clinics, supported by religious leader, Khamenei’s, 1999 Fatwa, and the cultural opposition from a large proportion of the public.
Verdict: A refreshing article. The resistance by the public as opposed to the government is interesting — tradition is harder to change than policy it seems. And as far as unintended consequences go… the article asks what the repercussions will be for children born of donor eggs or sperm (sperm donation has been illegal and underground since 2003); if their birth circumstance was to be known, would they be shunned by those around them? What happens when cultural taboo contradicts what is acceptable by policy? (Though even the law isn’t quite ready for third party fertility treatments either as these children are seen as adopted children and not afforded legal inheritance rights). Anyway, interesting article. I guess it comes down to whether as an infertile young couple, the shame of infertility is worse or the taboo of fertility treatments. These cultural restrictions will inevitably be more pronounced in rural areas. In general, a glimmer of how religious dictatorships can turn heads too.
ps. Can I just say… the thought of underground sperm donation and black market sperm paints a pretty funny image.
Quotes
In some ways, fertility treatment may be the rare area where the Iranian regime has moved forward before society is ready. Although legislators approved embryo donation, they overruled Khamenei on sperm donation, banning the procedure in 2003. As a result, the practice was pushed underground, and those clinics that quietly offer the treatment are vulnerable to prosecution. Sara Bamdad, a researcher in Shiraz who conducted a survey on public attitudes about assisted reproduction, found that only 34 percent of respondents approved of egg donation. “Lawmakers should be thinking about the future and what is going to happen to these children when they’re older,” says Bamdad. “If a society can’t accept a child that’s born of assisted reproduction, then there’ll be so many problems in the future.
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