According to data released by the Health Ministry, last year (ended in March), 12,281 women put in applications for the medical termination of their pregnancies. The figure was 23.4% higher compared to the preceding year.
“Permission was granted to 8,537 applicants, which indicates that the number of permits increased by 19.8% compared to the preceding year,” said Ahmad Shojaee, head of the Legal Medicine Organization, ILNA reported.
Provinces with the highest number of medical abortions were Tehran (1,145), Khorasan Razavi (966), Khuzestan (911), Fars (606), Isfahan (516), Kerman (330), and Alborz (320).
Termination of pregnancy is legal in Iran unless the woman can prove that giving birth would pose a health risk to herself or her baby.
“Verified genetic testing, ultrasound, written consent of mother, gestational period of less than 19 weeks of the fetus, besides approval by three medical specialists is mandatory for therapeutic abortion,” Shojaee said.
The reason for the increase can be attributed to the people’s raised awareness of genetic counseling. Counseling and genetic tests are the most effective ways of preventing congenital defects in new born babies.
Unsafe Abortions
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) induced abortion rate declined significantly in the developed world between 1990 and 2014, but not in the developing countries.
A woman’s likelihood of having an abortion is slightly elevated if she lives in a developing region. Currently, there are 29 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years in developing countries, compared with 24 per 1,000 in the developed world.
The WHO defines unsafe abortion as a procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is performed by an individual lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both.
According to Mohammad Mahdi Akhundi, head of Iranian Society of Embryology and Reproductive Biology, import of abortion pills is banned in Iran. However the pills (misoprostol) and vials (prostaglandin) that can cause miscarriage are available in the black market and from peddlers in Nasser Khosrow Street near Tehran’s downtown Grand Bazaar.
Stating that mortality due to unsafe abortions is categorized as maternal death, he said “Annually around 290 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.” The other causes of maternal deaths include preeclampsia, infections, heart related disorders and embolism. Iran has committed to reduce maternal mortality to zero by the year 2030.
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