I-13: Therapeutic Abortion Law in Iran: Past,Present and Future

s:2987:"Although the definition of abortion is pregnancy loss under 20 weeks of gestational age, in Islamic law, termination pregnancy in any gestational age is considered abortion "SEGHT JANIN". Also only "induced abortion" has legal validity, and other kinds of miscarriage (recurrent, missed,…) have no legal or ethical issue. In Iran, Islam is the base of the law. Article 4 of Iran constitution says: "All civil, penal financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and other laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria." And also according to the article 167, in case of the absence of the law, judges have to deliver their judgment on the basis of authoritative Islamic sources and religious scholars' decrees (fatawa). So, every law is originated from decrees. In 1997, supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, released a decree to allow abortion of fetuses with Beta thalasemia major. This decree began a procedure leading to the first "therapeutic abortion regulation" released on 2002 by Iran forensic medicine authority. Then in 2005, "Therapeutic abortion law" was passed by parliament accepting the induced abortion under some circumstances. The law says: "Therapeutic abortion with confirmation of three specialists and confirmation of the forensic medicine authority of fetal abnormalities or fetal mental disorders as burden (HARAJ) for the mother or mother's disease which puts her life in danger, before ensoulment (4 months) with the mother's consent is acceptable and no legal responsibility is on the operating physician." Although the law has solved so many problems of pregnant women, it seems to be incomplete and does not cover all the situations. The main lack of the law is the definition of "burden" and weather it is subjective or objective. It seems that in the law, the burden is considered "objective", so, three specialists and forensic medicine authority must approve the situation and permit the abortion. But here we have "problem of criteria". There are no criteria upon which we can verify the burden on someone and till now, there is no official executive guideline for this law. So, for pregnancy by rape or incest, with huge stigma and burden on the victim, nobody gives the abortion permission. Another lack of the law is the limitation of abortion to just under the four months of gestational age (ensoulment), even if the life of the mother is in danger. Although currently pregnancy is terminated in any gestational age in the case of the threat of mother's life, but according to the law after four months it is completely illegal. The future of this law must include the definition of burden and its criteria and also deletion of the ensoulment limitation for when the mother's life is in danger. The therapeutic abortion law could solve many problems in Iran, but it seems that the law is not complete and must be revised.";