Free contraceptives banned from public health centers in Iran
Iran’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the free distribution and subsidized sale of contraceptive items amid a public row over the recently passed Family and Youth Protection Law.
Guidelines released Monday by the watchdog’s director-general of controlled drugs, Hamid Reza Inanloo, said staff at health ministry-affiliated hospitals across the country were prohibited from handing out free contraceptives or drugs. encourage patients to use them.
The guidelines are part of the new Family and Youth Protection Act, which was finally approved by the Guardian Council last November.
Prior to ratification, the bill bore the equally euphemistic title of “Plan for the Youth of the People” and was part of a government campaign endorsed by the Supreme Leader to boost procreation in Iran.
The law includes several sweeping and potentially dangerous provisions that critics say will only increase the number of Iranians turning to illegal abortions. Article 51 prohibits the promotion and free distribution of contraceptives in health facilities, while Article 52 even prohibits voluntary sterilization of men and women in Iran.
Article 53 of the same law stipulates that failure to refer a pregnant woman for screening for fetal abnormalities, either by a doctor or by other health professionals, will not be considered an offense and will not will not be prosecuted.
The law also allows the recording and sharing of data on the fertility, pregnancy and abortion history of all patients among all Iranian medical institutions, public and private. It also stipulates that a new “abortion council” composed of at least three “mujtahid jurists” will be set up for the express purpose of monitoring and controlling abortion. The Ministry of Intelligence and other agencies such as the Passive Defense Organization are now forced to treat infertility as a security issue.
Related coverage:
The maid’s story in Iran: Leaked letter to hospital chief sparks fears for pregnant women
Parliament adopts draconian plan to increase childbearing in Iran
Parliament’s cash incentives for new babies don’t add up
More than 600,000 women have illegal abortions in Iran every year
Special Report: Khamenei’s Delusional Population Growth Policy Endangers Iran’s Future
Ayatollah Khamenei: Go forth and multiply!
