In another, a devout follower tells the Prophet he cannot provide for any more children. Our Mullahs were working in a narrow system and now they are opening to lessons from the rest of the world. And indeed the rest of the world is opening to lessons from Iran. Representatives from Indonesia, China and other nations have visited to take notes on Iran's turnaround. And mobile teams travel the country, providing contraception, vasectomies, and tubal ligation.
Sterilization is voluntary, abortion illegal.
Leading women's rights advocates say women are benefiting from the changes. The result is women still have much more choice than they did before. In the end, though, Iran's faltering economic policy may have as much to do with the slowed growth as its health policy. Inflation is running at 30 per cent and unemployment at 20 per cent, making the cost of bearing more children a difficult prospect for many.