Iranian Sentenced to Death Over 140 ‘Illegal Abortions’

September 17, 2025

An Iranian defendant has been sentenced to death after being convicted of performing at least 140 illegal abortions, state media reported.
Tasnim news agency said the case is currently under review by the country’s Supreme Court.
No additional details about the defendant’s identity or how the case was discovered have been released.
Under Iranian law, abortion outside legally defined conditions is considered a crime.
Those involved in the procedure, including doctors or mothers, face severe penalties ranging from imprisonment and blood money payments to death sentences.
The case has drawn attention to Iran’s restrictive abortion laws and harsh punishments, which have been repeatedly criticized by women’s rights and reproductive health advocates.

Source: https://iranwire.com/en/news/144886-iranian-sentenced-to-death-over-140-illegal-abortions/

17.09.2025

News

abortion in Iran

death penalty for abortion provision

Iran launches hotline to discourage abortions

Jan 9, 2025

Iran's health ministry has introduced a hotline aimed at dissuading citizens from having abortions as the theocratic system attempts to confront slowing population growth.

"Trained individuals help callers keep their pregnancies and decide against abortion," the head of the ministry's Center for Population Growth, Saber Jabari, said Thursday.

Continued: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202501099418

09.01.2025

Basij Medical Society

Center for Population Growth

hotline to discourage abortion

More Iranian women forced into illegal abortions

Hundreds of thousands of women seek illegal abortions every year in Iran, defying strict family planning laws enforced by the Islamist regime.

Elina Farhadi
Jan 6, 2025

Although Iranian authorities have widely restricted access to abortion in an attempt to reverse demographic decline, more women are going outside the law to end unwanted pregnancies.

According to figures from the Iranian Ministry of Health reported by the Khabaronline news website in June 2024, over 600,000 illegal abortions are performed annually in Iran.

Experts say poverty, joblessness, and lack of social security are contributing factors forcing women to undergo an abortion despite serious risks.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/more-iranian-women-forced-into-illegal-abortions/a-71229081

Iran steps up war on abortion with anti-abortion centers in 250 cities

July 29, 2024

Iran has established anti-abortion centers in 250 cities, preventing 4,700 abortions, according to a Health Ministry official.

In an interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Saturday, Saber Jabbari-Farouji, head of Iran’s Health Ministry's Population Youth Department, disclosed that the centers are part of the "Nafas" intervention group.

The group operates in locations frequently visited by pregnant women contemplating abortion and collaborates with the likes of pregnancy diagnosis labs, gynecologists' offices, midwives, general practitioners, and the national health network, including hospitals, to deter a woman considering an abortion.

Continued: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202407278721

29.07.2024

Ali Khamenei

anti-abortion centers

anti-abortion patrols

Center for Strategic Research on Population

Family Protection and Youth Population Law

gender apartheid

Health Ministry's Population Youth Department

Saber Jabbari-Farouji

Iran – Raisi Administration Criticized for Inconsistent Abortion Policies

May 18, 2024
Iran International Newsroom/

President Ebrahim Raisi's recent remarks describing Iran's abortion statistics as "alarming," have sparked accusations of hypocrisy.

Critics argue that his administration, despite heavy investment, has failed to provide accurate data on abortion rates, contradicting his public stance.

Continued: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405187222

18.05.2024

Khamenei’s Failing Hand: Abortion Rates Defy Iran’s Population Policy

March 13, 2024
Majid Mohammadi

A notable paradox in population dynamics has emerged recently in Iran.

On one front, the government aims to increase the population by two-fold – and as soon as possible. To achieve this, it has severely restricted abortion and contraception, and simultaneously promotes pregnancy and childbearing.

But, year after year, individuals are instead opting to have fewer children, standing in opposition to the government's ambitious population policy. In essence, Iranians have effectively countered Khamenei's population policy – and defeated its goals.

Continued: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202403135943

13.03.2024

Commentary

abortion in Iran

Expediency Council

Family Protection and Youth Population Law in 2020

Iran Shuts Down Clinic After Establishing ‘Anti-Abortion Watch’

May 10, 2023
Maryam Sinaee

Iranian authorities shut down a clinic Sunday, after they said a “volunteer force” has been established to identify doctors and clinics who carry out abortions.

Public Relations of Tabriz Medical Sciences University said in a statement Monday that various organizations including the university, Basij Physicians Militia of the Revolutionary Guards’ (IRGC), the justice department of East Azarbaijan Province, and police identified and sealed the clinic.

At the same time, Saber Jabbari-Farouji, head of the health ministry’s Center for Rejuvenation of Population, that a volunteer group called Nafas (life) has been formed to help prevent abortions. Iranian media have dubbed the group as “[Anti-] Abortion Patrols”, similar to hijab enforcement units.

Continued: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202305096197

10.05.2023

News

Ali Khamenei

anti-abortion patrols

Ebrahim Raisi

Saber Jabbari-Farouji

Saeed Karimi

Soleiman Haydari

Tabriz Medical Sciences University

From Iran, Solidarity With American Women

9/26/2022
by NASRIN SOTOUDEH

Editor’s note: For almost two weeks, protests have been raging across Iran, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was in custody of the morality police at the time of her death. Her alleged crime: not abiding by the country’s hijab rules. Iranian human rights lawyer and long-time friend of Ms. magazine, Nasrin Sotoudeh has spent her career fighting for the rights of women and minorities in the Middle East. In a letter to Ms. (below), Sotoudeh connected what’s happening with Iran to the global fight for women’s rights.

My warmest greetings from Iran. I would like to express my deep and sincere solidarity with the staff and readers of Ms. magazine.

This bond is rooted in my appreciation for your unreserved support for me and my husband during the harsh days of my imprisonment. With pressure that tightened like a noose around our family on a daily basis, your coverage of human rights abuses in and out of Iran’s prisons, along with your clear personal concern, brought us (and others) much-needed hope.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2022/09/26/nasrin-sotoudeh-iran-us-women-abortion-rights/

26.09.2022

Iran Moves To Tighten Abortion Restrictions

July 04, 2022
By Golnaz Esfandiari

Maryam ended her pregnancy two years ago
using abortion pills. Her husband supported her. The couple already have a boy
and a girl, and they decided they did not want a third child.

Abortion pills are not easily accessible in Iran due to government
restrictions. Maryam obtained misoprostol through a pharmacist who was
recommended by a friend.

Continued: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-moves-to-tighten-abortion-restrictions/31928363.html

04.07.2022

Iran Association of Midwives

Iran – Tasnim News Agency Raises Alarm Over Abortion Numbers

5/26/2022

In an attack on abortion in Iran, the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, proclaimed Thursday that 1,000 “Shiite children are murdered by their parents every day.”

Tasnim cited data from the health ministry dating back five years. The agency claimed that only ten of 1,000 abortions had been legal, with 93 percent of the women married and 7 percent single. A daily figure of 1,000 is half the 2,000 – or around 700,000 a year – claimed last year by Amirhossein Bankipour, head of the parliament’s population committee.

Continued: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202205265655

26.05.2022

Ali Khamenei

Amirhossein Bankipour

Iran Revolutionary Guard