| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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reproduce and the freedom to decide whether, when, and how often to do so:
Implicit in this last condition are the right of men and women to be informed about, and to have access to, safe, effective, affordable, and acceptable family planning methods of their choice, as well as methods of their choice for regulation of fertility, which are not against the law, and the right of access to appropriate health-care services that enable women to safely go through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant. (United Nations, 1995, p. 15)
There is a vast amount of literature on the reproductive health situation in developing countries. Researchers, in particular demographers, have contributed to the discussion of the differentials in the reproductive health situation. These differentials include urban/rural, illiterate/literate, developing/nondeveloping countries, and so on. One of the major characteristics considered in this discussion involves a comparison of the reproductive health of Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Such consideration of differentials between Muslim and non-Muslim countries is common even in the literature on fertility (Dharmalingam & Morgan, 2004; Morgan, Stash, Smith, & Mason, 2002).
There are a number of reasons why religious affiliation is a particularly worthwhile dimension in the investigation of fertility differentials. First, in many countries (e.g., Ireland, India, Israel, the Philippines, and Lebanon), it is a characteristic that has immense social, economic, and political significance. For example, Yaukey (1961) observed that in Lebanon, religious affiliation is the single most important characteristic in defining group status. Second, religious affiliation has considerable theoretical bearing on fertility (McQuillan, 2004). A couple's religious status connotes a system of values that can influence