Lawmakers in Russian region advance law to ban abortion coercion

Lawmakers in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia have voted to outlaw abortion coercion and fine persons who influence women to abort their preborn children. The proposed regional legislation coincides with a national effort to reverse Russia’s plummeting birth rate.

According to The Moscow Times, the regional parliament of Krasnoyarsk passed the abortion coercion bill in its second of three readings, and if the law is adopted, Krasnoyarsk will become the 18th region in Russia to outlaw abortion coercion. 

“The bill defines ‘coercion’ as persuasion, bribery, deceit or blackmail but exempts medical and social workers who inform women about pregnancy risks,” The Moscow Times reported. 

Proposed fines for violations of the pending law range from 3,000 roubles ($34) to 50,000 roubles ($570).

“Our priority is to create a safe environment for families and the value of having many children,” the Krasnoyarsk legislative assembly stated.

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Elective abortions are legal in Russia up to 12 weeks of pregnancy; abortions at later gestations are legal if committed for “social indications” up to 22 weeks, or for “medical indications” at any stage in pregnancy, as approved by the Russian government.

Like many developed countries, Russia’s population has been steadily declining and the nation faces a population crisis. As Live Action News previously reported, “Russia’s fertility rate has been in decline for most of the last decade, stalling out at 1.42 children per woman of reproductive age as of 2022. It has been significantly below the rate required for the population to replace itself, which is 2.1 children per woman of reproductive age, for decades.”

An aging population, the pandemic, immigration, and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, have further intensified the problem of population decline in Russia.

A global shift is beginning to occur as countries are evaluating their population crises. The Chinese government has recently taken notice of China’s disastrously low birth rate, and has begun to pressure couples, and women in particular, to have babies. It remains to be seen if Russia will resort to such drastic measures to maintain its population.