Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

In its broad sense, health encompasses a wider area than simply physical health. It includes mental, social and spiritual health as well. There is evidence that a child inherits from his parents not only genetic traits but also morality and acquirable traits epigenetically. This means that the parents, especially the mother, have a double responsibility towards their children. In the Islamic literature there are general recommendations regarding choosing a spouse, as well as norms of fertilization, and time of conception; these could be explained today as epigenetic factors in shaping a child’s personality. Some specific recommendations are as follows: Refraining from marrying an ill-humored woman; remembering god at the time of fertilization; and avoiding intercourse at special places, times, states and situations, which would have negative influences on a person’s psyche. Although these cannot be explained on the basis of experimental criteria, their effect on the health of the fetus is worth studying using appropriate methodology. Influence of maternal health on child health in terms of environment, genetics, and epigenetics are the areas that will be explored more by research in Islamic and new scientific resources.

Involving children in their own treatment decision-making improves their abilities. Factors such as the ability to reason, previous children's experiences in relation to the subject as well as information, and their general understanding of the subject affect the child's ability to make decisions. The current laws of informed consent in children allow alternate decision makers to decide on their own. Our goal in this study was to examine the current conditions for the informed consent of children in to provide appropriate guidelines in this regard. In this qualitative study, participants were selected through targeted sampling. The data were collected by semi-structured interview with open questions. Coding and classification was carried out using continuous comparative analysis. Participants included 6 admitted children, 15 parents of children, and 4 pediatricians. Three general categories of "satisfaction culture", "environmental conditions", and "child world" were extracted. Parents and children were not clear about the purpose of obtaining consent. The gender of children was not significantly affected by the process of obtaining formal consent in medical settings. The existing conditions have created a non-appropriate balance in the expectations of parents regarding the treatment decisions and giving vital information and treating the child by doctors disregarding child’s competency. This defective balance can, in the meantime, cause instability and harm to human dignity and autonomy of parents and children, waste of resources, challenging the sense of trust in the community towards doctors and the lack of growth in child’s decision-making power.
 

All children have a right to benefit from health facilities, goods and services and be protected from physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, and neglect or maltreatment. Some groups of children need special support to enjoy their rights. The aim of this paper is to review Iran’s laws and policies on the protection of children’s right to health. The method of this descriptive and analytical study was content analysis of international and national law and reports related to children’s right to health and the current situation of Iranian children. The data was collected from academic literature and official webpages of United Nations and Iranian government’s organizations. Realizing citizens’ right to health and protection, Iran’s laws respect the right of vulnerable groups of children to special support. Moreover, to protect Iranian children from health risks and maltreatment, there are several deterrent laws. Iranian laws on children often are consistent with international human rights laws.  However, not all of them are adequately and completely implemented. To promote the health of children, weaknesses in the implementation of laws should be identified and removed.