So this was linked to by Drudge: “Iran considers ban on vasectomies in drive to boost birthrate.” I’d read previously that the birthrate in Iran mushroomed after the Islamic Revolution, though I’m not sure to what extent this was a matter of government policies compelling childbirth (e.g., outright bans on contraception) and to what extent it was genuine religious fervor helped along by incentives. In any case, that produced a massive baby boom — the Guardian says the population doubled in 10 – 11 years — which was brought to a halt with new government policies (and new preferences on the part of couples) in the 1990s.
Now the government has decided that the population growth of the 80s wasn’t enough: the Ayatollah is urging the government to enact policies to double the population again, from 77 million to over 150 million.
Will they do it? Kind of makes our discussions about child tax credits seem trivial in comparison.
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