Decision by the Federal Bureau of Yabloko of 29.12.2023, published on 9.01.2024

Photo by Oleg Kharseyev, Kommersant

The shift in government policy towards archaic conservatism leads to restrictions on women’s reproductive rights. Under the guise of concern for demographic issues and raising of the birth rate, the state actually forces women to give birth to unwanted babies whom they cannot afford both to provide for and raise.

Official statistics demonstrates that as Russian society develops, the trend towards a decrease in the number of abortions maintains: in 1990 there were over 4 million abortions, 2 million in 2000, and already 0.5 million in 2022. These figures confirm that there is no real reason today to resume the campaign to ban abortion.

Demographic issues represent complex and complicated problems. They are not solved by banning abortion. This is confirmed by the fact that the fourfold reduction in the number of abortions over the past 20 years is not accompanied by an increase in the birth rate.

Meanwhile, a bill was introduced to the State Duma to ban abortion operations in private clinics, while means of terminating pregnancy in the early stages that preserve fertility and do not harm the woman – miropristone and mifepristone – are already under strict control.

There are proposals in the State Duma and the Federation Council to allow abortion only for medical reasons or in cases of rape; carry out the operation only with the permission of the father or parents of the minor; limit the period of possible operation to eight rather than twelve weeks. There are opinions that instead of receiving higher education, a woman should give birth to a baby immediately after school.

In addition, some representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, together with pro-life organisations and Orthodox activists, are collecting signatures for a complete ban on abortion.

In a number of regions, private clinics, under pressure from the authorities, have already refused abortion operations (Crimea, Mordovia, Tatarstan, Kursk, Penza, Kaliningrad, Lipetsk and Chelyabinsk regions). Fines for “inducing termination of preganacy” were introduced in Mordovia, Tver, Tambov, Kaliningrad, Novgorod and Pskov regions.

Instead of creating economic and social conditions for combining family roles and work, which is necessary for the overwhelming majority of women, the state multiplies prohibitions, limiting women’s rights to make decisions about their own bodies.

Lobbyists proposing to ban abortion have forgotten the lessons of history and do not take into account the experience of their own country in this matter. In 1936, abortions were banned by the resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR. But even with the state’s introduction of additional measures to stimulate the growth of the birth rate – increasing financial aid to women expecting or giving birth to babies, establishing state assistance for families with many children, expanding the networks of maternity clinics, nurseries and kindergartens, enhancing criminal sanctions for non-payment of alimony and introducing some changes to the legislation on divorce, – in the long run the ban on abortion did not lead to an improvement in the demographic situation, but served as a catalyst for the rapid increase in the number of deaths and injuries of women from criminal abortions, which became an important sphere of the shadow economy; an increase in the number of suicides of pregnant women and infanticide; pushed up criminalisation, including corruption in the medical sector. Finally, the ban contributed not to an increase, but to a decrease in the birth rate.

It is for this reason that, in order to correct the situation, the state lifted the ban on abortion.

On 23 November, 1955, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the Abolition of the Prohibition of Abortion” was issued, and it was approved as law by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on 26 December, 1955, which essentially gave a state-legal assessment of the ban on abortion.

It runs that lifting the ban on abortion “will make it possible to eliminate the great harm caused to women’s health by abortions performed outside medical institutions and often by ignorant persons”, and that a reduction in the number of abortions can be “achieved through further expansion of government measures to encourage motherhood, as well as measures of educational and explanatory nature”.

The right of every woman to independently decide the issue of her motherhood is established by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation No 323-FZ “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation” dated 21 November, 2011. Artificial termination of pregnancy is carried out at the request of the woman and at her informed voluntary consent (Article 56 of the Federal Law).

To increase the birth rate, the following stimulating and supporting measures, and not prohibitions, are needed:

• improving the level and quality of life of families with children, giving them confidence in the future;
• reduction of poverty;
• guaranteed provision of free places in preschool educational institutions at the place of residence;
• ensuring employment and increasing wages;
• equalisation of wages between women and men;
• affordable and high-quality medicine;
• availability of extended day groups in schools and extracurricular activities for children;
• significant increase in child benefits;
• increasing the number of places in kindergartens and nursery groups;
• sex education in schools;
• availability of contraceptive measures, primarily condoms, and wide information about them;
• creation of an Alimony Fund, when the state pays alimony for a child and then searches the debtor;
• creating opportunities for women to return to work after the birth of a child;
• introduction of a parental leave for fathers and other measures.

However, these measures can give tangible results only if the woman and families live in a stable and peaceful society, when there are guarantees of equal opportunities to exercise their rights, when there is no fear, but confidence in the future.

Abortion is a physiologically and psychologically painful operation for a woman, which she decides on out of desperation: when she has children and lives poverty, inability to support another child, in case of rape or illness. In this case, the father of the potential child does not bear any responsibility.

The Yabloko party is not a supporter of abortion, but at the same time believes that a ban on abortion is a restriction of human rights, free will and the transformation of a woman into the property of the state.

The Yabloko, at every round of campaigns to ban abortion, consistently advocates for women’s rights and calls on citizens and public organisations to join us in resisting decisions that restrict these rights.

Nikolai Rybakov,

Yabloko Chairman