necessity of a comprehensive study on abortion in Iran

ABSTRACT

Each year health and lives of millions of people are endangered by the termination of unwanted pregnancies. Unsafe induced abortions happen very often all over the world, especially in developing countries which many lead to death and disability of women in their fertility years. The highest incidence of unsafe induced abortions are reported from developing countries, especially those that impose tighter legal restrictions. These important problems which inflict women, need to be addressed by a comprehensive study on different aspects of abortion in such societies as Iran, which is confronting about 80,000 abortions each year. On of the objectives of this study was familiarization with the problem of abortion in the Iranian society where religious, legal and cultural prohibitions have lead to an increase in unsafe induced abortions. Other objectives of this study were to evaluate the causes of this increase, to assess the need for educative information on different aspects of unsafe abortions, to familiarize the legislative authorities with the present condition of the country and to make preparations for a change in views and also to cultivate the social grounds to reduce the increasing rate of such abortions. This study was based on literature and documentation reviews. Considering the young age of the Iranian population, changes in the views of Iraian women on the family size, late marriages, absence of parents at home in most of the day time, committing unsafe abortions due to the pressures exerted by restrictive legislations, endangering physical, sexual and psychosocial health of men and women and the increased treatment expenses and their effect on the health care budget, require great steps to be taken to make changes in legislative policies by applying WHO's views on the concept of health to hopefully witness a pronounced reduction in unsafe abortions. It seems that there are the possibilities to achieve legal solutions by considering the comprehensive aspects of abortion and taking divagate of the uncertainties and absence of a unified jurisprudential view on the time of soul inspiration and by relying on the robust law of [hardship], prescription of abortion in some instarces can come true