Iran sets fines for doctors carrying out contraception operations
Iranian MP Abdorrahman Rostamian said men or women who undergo such operations will not be fined, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on August 9. However, abortion will be subject to fines, he added. Doctors who violate the law will be fined phase by phase, from verbal notification to written warning, and finally annulling their work permit, he explained. Any kind of advertisement about contraception will be addressed by legal bodies, he noted. Iran has started to review the contraception policies in the country in recent years. Last October Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei condemned the country's policy on contraception, saying it too closely reflects the western lifesty, Kazinform has learnt from Trend.Az .
Iran's family-planning program went largely unchallenged until former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began to criticize the "Two children are enough" slogan. In April of 2010, he also said that "the country has the potential for a population of 150 million" Later the Supreme leader made similar statements, saying that a population of 150 million to 200 million would be ideal for Iran. Currently Iran's population stands at over 76 million people. Reversing past policies to control population growth, the government has canceled subsidies for condoms and birth control pills and eliminated free vasectomies. Iranian deputy health minister Ali-Akbar Sayyari said on June 15 that some 220,000 abortion operations are conducted in the country annually, of which 120,000 are illegally conducted.