Kinship, law and religion

In 2003, the first Iranian law concerning assisted reproduction was passed in the Iranian parliament, permitting embryo donation and (gestational) surrogacy. At the same time, from a religious point of view, most Shia legal authorities have taken a relatively permissive view and generally support assisted reproductive technology, including procedures that involve egg, sperm, and embryo donation and surrogacy arrangements under certain conditions. An examination of the social, legal and religious aspects of the development and implementation of these technologies in Iran is the subject of this monograph. This is the first monograph to offer a cultural account of assisted reproduction in Iran.

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Since the first IVF birth in 1990, the Iranian medical community has not only given full support to the use and development of assisted reProductive technology but has aided the emergence of a powerful, locally-trained body of medical practitioners and biomedical researchers. At the same time, from a religious point of view, most Shia legal authorities - differences of opinion notwithstanding - have taken a relatively permissive view and generally support assisted reProductive technology, including procedures that involve egg, sperm and embryo donation as well as surrogacy arrangements under certain conditions. An examination of the social, legal and ethical aspects of the development and implementation of these technologies in Iran is the Subject of this book. It is based on a combination of extensive ethnographic research and textual analysis of important academic and religious seminary publications in Iran, from Shia jurisprudence (fiqh) and Persian histories to the analysis of laws and verdicts.