Rasa News Agency reports – At the end of his Quranic exegesis class, Grand Ayatollah Ja’far Sobhani criticized the position taken by Shahindokht Mollaverdi, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, in relation to the new abortion bill passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament). The bill passed by the parliament in June was aimed at encouraging more births by outlawing sterilization and vasectomies and increasing penalties for abortions.
“The penalties which the parliament has considered for abortion are excellent because this crime is considered murder,” Ayatollah Sobhani explained in accordance to Islamic law.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, has urged parliament to pass laws that will ensure a higher birth rate and has published a 14-point plan on his website to increase Iran’s population by encouraging Iran families to have more children.
Ayatollah Sobhani explained that considers abortion to be against the goals of the Islamic system of governance in Iran: “Abortion leads to the decrease of the population and crosses the ‘red lines’ of the system. Thus, we should stand against this new law.”
He quoted Ms Mollaverdi’s arguments and said: “She said in regard to the enforcement of this law, ‘The problems facing our population concerns will not be solved with slogans and controversy. We must institutionalize this culture in our population. These penalties cause some doctors to do abortions underground.’”
His Eminence rapped Ms Mollaverdi’s comments, saying that nowhere in the world has such an argument been used to justify abortion laws and they cannot be accepted in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“It is true that people should strive for intellectual and cultural progress; but on the other hand, crimes committed by offenders should also be taken into consideration. In all societies criminal acts are penalized and [correction] should not be obtained with training. Do we enforce punishments for carrying, buying and selling drugs or take fines for driving offences and failure to pay taxes and then free the offender? Or should we do something so people themselves do not perform these acts?,” he explained.
Ayatollah Sobhani pointed to the sharp statement Ms. Mollaverdi raised in the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) and said: “I say with the utmost respect and courtesy that such words should not be used in the Parliament.”
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