Iran: Attitudes towards prenatal screening

This study was conducted to find out the attitudes of Iranian scholars towards prenatal screening and counselling with respect to ethical issues. 

Two hundred and one physicians, genetic and religious scholars were interviewed with regard to demographics and attitudes towards the ethical dilemmas in prenatal screening and counseling. Interviews were analysed using the four-principle approach.

Findings showed scholars’ attitudes towards: (1) the right of couples to choose prenatal screening, (2) the role of prenatal screening and counselling concerning termination of an affected fetus, (3) screening results and emotional distress in couples, and (4) the impact of prenatal screening and counseling on disability rate.

The authors concluded that Iranian scholars were willing to consider prenatal screening to help prevent transmission of diseases to the next generation. This goal is attained through the autonomous choice of the couple to participate in prenatal screening and counselling.

Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shaheed Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. Email

Prenatal screening and counseling in Iran and ethical dilemmas. Saniei M, Mehr EJ, Shahraz S, Zahedi LN, Rad AM, Sayar S, Sherafat Kazemzade R, Shekarchi A, Zali MR. Community Genetics. 2008;11(5):267-72. Epub 2008 May 20.