A study of capacity and other terms in surrogacy in view of the Iranian law, Imamieh Jurisprudence and ethics

In the Iranian Civil Code, article 190 and the following articles specify a series of conditions that each party of a contract should possess in order to be able to enter into the contract. The above-mentioned article states that in order for a contract to be valid, both parties must be of age, must be in full possession of their senses, and must have reached puberty. In addition to these conditions, the intended parents must meet a number of other criteria as well; for instance, they should be infertile and must be physically and mentally healthy. As regards the surrogate mother, she needs to be married and in good physical and mental health, and she should have previously conceived a child. She must also be of an age suitable for pregnancy, and it needs to be ascertained that she will come to no harm due to pregnancy. These terms, however, are not ordained by the Iranian law and are only observed by some institutions at the moment. Therefore it is recommended that legislators focus on the issue of surrogacy and oversee the observance of the above-mentioned terms by institutions that are involved in the process.