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Debate over sterilizing homeless women addicts resurfaces in Iran

A proposal to sterilize homeless women who are addicted to drugs has stirred heated debate in Iran again, with conservatives using the issue to attack President Hassan Rouhani's administration.
An Iranian anti-narcotics policeman stands guard beside a display of confiscated drugs during a ceremony concluding anti-narcotics manoeuvres in Zahedan, 1,605 kilometers (1,003 miles) southeast of Tehran May 20, 2009.  The head of the U.N. crime agency praised Iran during a visit on Wednesday for curbing the flow of smuggled heroin from Afghanistan and helping keep the drug off Western streets.  Picture taken May 20, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN CRIME LAW POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTXKL1B

Iran is in the grip of heated debate on whether homeless women who are addicted to drugs should be sterilized. The controversy began Dec. 27 after Shahrvand daily published images of homeless men and women sleeping in open graves in a cemetery near Shahriar, a small town in Tehran province. The story sent shockwaves across Iran and led to sharp exchanges between the administration of President Hassan Rouhani and its critics over the issues of poverty and corruption in Iranian society. Some officials called for sterilizing homeless women who are addicted to drugs as a solution, and there have been widely divergent reactions in Iran’s political and public spheres.

Those in favor of the idea argue that the children of mothers addicted to drugs won’t have a reasonable quality of life, as they will suffer from health complications, high mortality rates or even end up being sold in exchange for narcotics. Opponents of the proposal, however, point to ethical, legal and religious issues.

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