The prosecutor’s office filed charges against the editor-in-chief and a journalist of the Shargh newspaper.
The Tehran prosecutor’s office has filed charges against the Shargh newspaper following the publication of a report on the increase in births of babies with Down syndrome and the restrictions on pregnancy screening.
According to Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary, a legal case has been filed against Mehdi Rahmanian, the editor-in-chief, and Maryam Lotfi, a journalist from the social group of this newspaper.
The charge brought against Shargh is the dissemination of falsehoods and the publication of incorrect information in the media space.
In a report titled ‘Increase in Births of Babies with Chromosomal Disorders’, Shargh newspaper, quoting medical experts, wrote that with the implementation of the Population Youthfulness Law, the conditions related to aborting Down syndrome fetuses and the process of pregnancy screening have become more restricted.
Based on the data presented in this report, about 25 years after the implementation of this law, the recourse to pregnancy screening in Tehran has decreased by 20 to 30 percent and in less privileged provinces by up to 50 percent.