Attorney General Calls for Increased Action Against Abortion

With a directive from the Attorney General's Office, actions against abortion centers labeled as "unauthorized centers" and what has been termed "criminal networks" involved in abortion will intensify. The Public Relations Office of the Attorney General announced that this directive was issued in line with the population policies desired by Ali Khamenei. Mohammad Kazem Mohammadi Azad, in a directive to prosecutors in provincial centers across the country, has called for the appointment of a "qualified judge" and specialized branches to address this issue. The Attorney General of the Islamic Republic emphasized in this directive that any unauthorized purchase, sale, and distribution of common abortion drugs, outside the tracking and tracing system of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, or possession and transportation of such drugs without a doctor's prescription is considered a "crime" and subject to "legal punishment." The policy of increasing population and childbirth, as mandated by Ali Khamenei and pursued by government, judicial, and security agencies, comes at a time when the economic governance of the Islamic Republic has not only neutralized the intended incentives but has also disrupted the normal course of society. In this context, the newspaper "Donya-e-Eqtesad" reported on Thursday, February 15, that the population growth rate in Iran in the year 1401 reached 0.6 percent, and the fertility rate dropped to 1.66 units. The report emphasized that government measures such as childbearing loans, car lotteries, subsidies, and increased marriage loan amounts have not improved the situation regarding childbirth. Air pollution is one of the factors contributing to abortion and stillbirth in Iran; an interview with Dr. Mohammad Kazem Attari highlighted the new consequences of polluted air; sperm disorders and increased stillbirths in the country. Rampant inflation and the dream of "population increase"; up to 500,000 fetuses are aborted annually. Closure therapy to prevent abortion; the closure of a doctor's office in Tabriz. Issuance of an "indictment" for a doctor in Yazd for providing "tools" for abortion. One media outlet in Iran reported that pregnancies resulting from "incestuous rape" have become a problem.