فصلنامه حقوق پزشکی
پیاپی 11 (زمستان 1388)

The authors in this article try to study models of rehabilitation by means of a differentiated approach regarding the crime victims who have a disability and their vulnerability features. Improving these vulnerable victims’ status will neither be possible nor successful as long as models of rehabilitation are not revised from an interdisciplinary study perspective to rehabilitate the disabled victims. Therefore، the authors attempt to present the social، economic and medical models of rehabilitation in a victim–based method and to pay attention to the disabled victims’ vulnerability and to avoid thinking of these models in just one way. The authors’ aim is to promote the disabled victims’ status. Doubtless، it is impossible to prevent warning the disabled victims’ status except by rehabilitating them through measures of rehabilitation to redress the harms inflicted on victims who tolerated a great lot of injury and need to protect more than other victims. Therefore، the authors attempt to depict a new paradigm of thought regarding models of rehabilitation in a lawful framework and with emphasis on special protection from the disabled victims.

Delivering information to the patient is one of the most significant of a physician’s commitments. The physician should inform the patient about his or her diagnosis about the disease، nature and scope of medical practices، consequences and possible risks and something like these. The physician should also help the patient access correct and sufficient information in this regard so that s/he can make decision knowingly about what will be done to his/her body. Failure to accomplish this commitment can be considered as a professional failure and finally، leads to his/her responsibility. The author of the present article tries to study different aspects of a physician’s commitment to inform patients with a comparative view to legal systems of countries other than Iran.

Nowadays، genetic information is one of the most practical information in medical researches and therapeutic cares. Genetic researches and health care providers have paid special attention to the gained information from individuals’ backgrounds for decades to treat hereditary disorders and to prevent their infection. Increasing and widespread use of genetic information and biological data in different sections and easy access to them and also the risks and redress able harms which disclose of such data can inflict harm on the guardians and members of the families have made the governments and state cover these under their protective policies. This is affirmed by different kinds of Acts، declarations، international guidelines and universal proclamations. The governments have been obliged to observe individuals’ genetic privacy. Nevertheless، countries have taken different policies regarding protection of genetic information. These can be categorized in three groups: The first group contains the countries which have clearly protected such information in their Acts and considered punishments for those who disclose genetic information without consent such as United States of America and Australia; the second group are the countries which didn’t protect such data legally and have made no difference between these and other private data such as EU member states، the third group includes those countries which didn’t care for genetic information or paid little action to it such as most of under developing countries including Iran. The present article studies the approach taken by international organizations regarding genetic information and legal protection of different countries with respect to such information. Meanwhile، this writing emphasizes on this fact that nationals of the third group countries face a legal gap concerning protection of their genetic information.

Unwanted pregnancy is one of the important public health issues in the world which will cause a lot of worriness and stress for mother، wife and possibly for the child if pregnancy continues for a period of time. Unintended pregnancies account for 34 percent of all cases of pregnancy in Iran; with 16 percent as unwanted and 18 percent mistimed. There is no certain rate regarding induced and unsafe abortion in Iran annually، an estimated 73000 induced abortions are performed by married women who are illegal and unsafe. Unsafe abortion is now considered as a problem of women’s health، the subject of public health and women’s rights. Therefore، preventing unsafe abortion and its consequences are considered as executive and research priorities. This review article is compiled and written based on a literature review، the guidelines presented by WHO and International Federation of Family Planning. The aim of this article is to study the subject of induced abortion of the fetus in Iran and existing challenges to familiarize rhetoricians and legislators to change the viewpoints in this regard on one hand، and to pave the way to remove the dilemmas and to prevent the increasing rate of unsafe abortions with presenting solutions. A decree cannot be issued without paying attention to basic and valuable beliefs of a society regarding an issue، nor can right decisions be made while disregarding the necessaries arisen from the facts of individual and collective lives in the contemporary world. Therefore، the verdicts of religious scholars and lawful licenses regarding abortion in hardship and obligation before infusion the soul make the logical and flexible revision of related Acts so necessary that they can meet the updated needs of society.

Rights of reproduction is included in human rights which are recognized by all countries and is defined as: All individuals and couples have a right to make decision concerning the number and spacing of their children and the issues of fertilization without tolerating violence، coercion and discrimination. The purpose of this writing is to study some criteria of health in Iranian health system، gained outcomes and challenging which the system face. Maternal mortality: The rate of maternal mortality has decreased significantly from 234 cases in 1975 to 23. 84 cases in 1988. Although Iranian health system has been successful in the reduction of the number of maternal mortality، it has a long way to go to reach the aims predicted by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education concerning 18 live cases in each 100 000 births. It should be borne in mind that the rate of maternal mortality will increase rapidly if it is ignored. Family planning: Despite wide usage of contraception methods (56%)، the rate of unwanted pregnancy cases is high. Data analysis showed that 35% of married pregnant women considered their pregnancy unwanted. Two-third of those inflicted with unwanted pregnancy was using one method of contraception methods or the other. This clearly means that the council of health care centers was not enough. Safe abortion: There is no exact data regarding induced abortion in Iran. Some statistical figures have indicated the rate as 80000 cases annually. World Health Organization estimates 1000 cases of unsafe abortion in every day in Iran. According to a program entitled “population and health in Iran”، about one out of four cases of pregnancy is unwanted for the couples. Regarding the annual birth (1 200 000 cases)، with the presumption of 2% of induced abortion، its certain figure and its consequences، it becomes clear that it should be urgently dealt with. Violence: Based on different studies، the prevalence of physical violence in Iran is reported as 11%-47%. In other studies the rate of sexual violence against pregnant women was reported from 10. 7% to 14. 5%. Violence against pregnant women is not only to breach woman’s rights as a human but it is also to breach the fight of a fetus because there is a positive relation between physical violence and reduction of weight of fetus. Discussion and violence against women، lack of access to health care clinics with high quality، and high rate of service delivery in private clinics affects negatively not only on women but also on all members of the family. Therefore، rights of reproduction are not only dedicated to women but are basic rights of all human beings.

Cloning، as a new technology، has attracted the attention of statesmen، physicians، lawyers and other scientific communities. This phenomenon both opens a new horizon on human society regarding its therapeutic features and brings some concerns to it. This technology is divided into two parts: Human or generative cloning and therapeutic or investigative cloning. The first meaning which comes to the mind is simply to make and compose a human being like the one existing before. Medical cloning is defined as the transfer of somatic nucleus cell into an ovum without nucleus. Theoretically speaking، researchers try to make a somatic cell into a fetus through cloning. In the above-mentioned clonings، the beginning of the processes are the same while their results are quite different. In human cloning the outcome is a human being who is genetically like the person whose active nucleus cell has been used. But in therapeutic cloning، the aim is to generate embryonic stem cells from an embryo which is just a few-day old. Such cells have the capacity to change into the cells of tissues and organs. As the primary and important sources of cloning، religions have a considerable effect on the process of legislation in this regard. Different religions have different and numerous decrees. Regarding plant and animal cloning، they considered a favorable conduct. Reading the status of cloning in therapy of diseases، some are advocates but some are opponents to it. But what is seriously condemned in all religions is human cloning. Catholic condemned both human cloning and therapeutic cloning and disagrees with it seriously. In Islam، Sunnites considered human cloning as unethical and something opposite to Islam. From Shi’ite prespective، this has not yet been considerably studied. Human cloning is permitted and favorable but therapeutic cloning does not enjoy a consensus. Regarding the usage of this technology and its possible disadvantages، its use has been accompanied by some agreements and disagreements for which there are numerous reasons. Accordingly، some countries deal with it based on religious، cultural، ethical and social approaches، and put it in the process of legislation and criminalizations. Unfortunately، like other scientific and social phenomena that come to the process of legislation very late، human cloning has not yet been put in the process of legislation in Iran. Even a draft has not been prepared for consideration. Furthermore، statesmen have not declared any formal stands so that it will indicate Iranian criminal policy. Nevertheless، Iran is included in a few countries in the world which accessed to embryonic stem cells. Studying the advocates’ opinions and those of opponents of cloning، and with a view to the Act for Fetus Donation to Sterile Couples which may be considered a little of cloning concern، the author tries to examine criminalization and required legal performance in Iran.