By Ryan Whyte / GICJ
A new law passed in Iran criminalizes abortion and decimates decades of slow progress around family planning and women’s health.On 1 November, the Guardian Council of Iran introduced the ‘Youthful Population and Protection of the Family’ law. Iranian officials insisted that the legislation was passed in an attempt to boost the fertility rate and increase the low population growth rate in the country.
However, in a statement that was released on Tuesday, UN experts described the legislation as a “clear contravention of international law” as it severely restricts access to abortion, contraception, voluntary sterilization services, and related information. The new law also contains a vaguely worded provision which states that if carried out on a large scale, abortion would fall under the crime of “corruption on earth” and carry the death penalty.
The legislation, passed by parliament in March, marks the stark end of relatively progressive family planning policies which had developed in the country since the formation of the Islamic Republic in 1979. By 2000, around 90 percent of Iran’s population lived within two kilometers of a family planning service-delivery point, and mobile public-sector providers periodically serviced remote areas. Furthermore, the 62 percent of married women using modern contraceptive in Iran is reported to be the highest current level of use among all Muslim-majority countries. Moreover, Iran is among the few countries in the Middle East that manufacture condoms.
Therefore, the sudden change from the government could be interpreted as a dangerous, knee-jerk reaction to statistics that show an aging population and birth rates that have decreased as a direct impact of deliberate, structured government policy over the space of four decades. The decision to decimate and criminalize family planning structures that have been a social norm for the last generation of Iranian women shows a clear lack of understanding of the potential consequences. According to official data an estimated 300,000 to 600,000 illegal abortions are performed in Iran every year. Data has shown that criminalizing abortions and family planning services does not reduce abortion rates, rather, it results in the practice being undergone in clandestine, unsafe conditions, subsequently increasing the likelihood of long-term health complications and death for women who will choose to have an abortion regardless of the legal implications.
This policy turnaround must be understood by the international community as more than a simple attempt to boost population growth. The legislation is yet another move by the Iranian government to restrict the rights and freedoms of women, in clear violation of their rights to life and health, the right to non-discrimination and equality, the right to bodily integrity, and the right to family planning. As well as bearing dangerous consequences for the physical health of women with regard to an increase in clandestine abortion procedures, the legislation carries covert implications for the next generation of women in Iran. While the country has been politically conservative since its formation, this type of legislation could cause further reduction of women’s particiaption in society as a consequence of emboldening a legal system that already fails to protect women’s rights.
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) calls on the UN and the international community to condemn this ban on abortions. GICJ urges Iran to repeal the law on ‘Youthful Population and Protection of the Family’ and immediately ceases the criminalization of abortion. Such legislation restricts women’s fundamental rights to life, health, and bodily integrity.
Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice
