Prenatal Diagnosis in Islamic Countries: A Narrative Review in 2013

To review the current situation regarding prenatal diagnosis in islamiccountries, a descriptive study (narrative review) has been done based onthe available data in formal international and national publisheddocuments in 2013. the sources were papers, websites and electronicbooks. time limitation of searches has started 20 years ago. the mainlanguages were english and persian.forty seven nations were officially referred as islamic since more than50% of the citizens are muslims. the holy qur'an and islamic traditions(shari'aht) are the core of the civil laws, however, the legal grounds forprenatal diagnosis differ in islamic countries. the main ground is theendangerment of a mother's life, however, severe suffering of parents (osrva haraj) is also considered in the islamic republic of iran. some otherimportant issues such as pregnancies as a result of rape should bediscussed more in some islamic countries. many “hard to treat diseases”such as chromosomal disorders, major hemoglobinopathies, inborn errorof metabolism, duchene muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular dystrophyare being diagnosed early in embryonic period that medical abortion isadvisable.prenatal diagnosis is an acceptable practice in both religious and seculargovernments in the so-called islamic countries.