This monograph examines the Iranian and Shia legal debates on technologies of assisted reproduction (including embryo donation and surrogacy) and looks at the regulations and implementation of these technologies in Iran. In particular, it addresses: 1) an analysis of the moral reasoning embedded in the Shia theological legal discourse on reproductive technology and how this tradition interprets assisted reproduction with a particular focus on underlying concepts, structure and principles of kinship; 2) the emergence and development of the relevant legislation, regulations and administrative policies and how this might shape the relationship between civil and religious law in Iran, and 3) the ways in which reproductive technology is used and understood with particular focus on underlying values, local narratives and the resulting societal dynamics. The methodological approach for this research is a combination of extensive ethnography and textual analysis of important academic and religious seminary publications in Iran, from Shia jurisprudence (fiqh) and Persian histories to the analysis of laws and verdicts.

Dr. Shirin Naef is a Swiss-Iranian anthropologist at the University of Zurich. Her research focuses on Bioethics especially reproductive and genetic technologies, legal anthropology, material culture, kinship, religion, Shia jurisprudence and theology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSPart I: Context1. FRAMING THE ISSUESPart II: Semantics2. IDEAS ABOUT IRANIAN KINSHIP3. SHIA APPROACHES TO ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES4. EMBRYO DONATION LAW AND SURROGACY REGULATION: THE INTERSECTION OF RELIGION, LAW AND ETHICSPart III: Practice5. SURROGACY AS DOING A GOOD DEED (SAVAB)6. A PRICELESS GIFT: A SHORT STORY OF SURROGACY7. "M AS IN MOTHER": MEDICAL PERSPECTIVES, CLINICAL ENVIRONMENTS AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS8. COUSIN MARRIAGE, SIBLINGSHIP AND REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES9. CONCLUSIONAPPENDIXGLOSSARYBIBLIOGRAPHY