Press Release, 11.06.2025

On 11 June, the Legislative Assembly of St Petersburg adopted at third reading a law introducing administrative liability for “incitement to abortion”. This definition could encompass everything from personal conversation to medical consultation. The Yabloko faction in the St Petersburg parliament is categorically against this repressive measure.

The law effectively prohibits discussion of the right to abortion. Any “persuasion” — even from a mother, friend, spouse or doctor — may now be deemed unlawful. This is not care for life, but an attack on freedom of choice.

“Soon a mother who tries to dissuade her 14-year-old daughter from giving birth will find herself in the defendants’ bench in a courtroom,” warned Olga Shtannikova, deputy leader of the Yabloko faction.

Shtannikova reminded that incitement to action cannot be a crime if the action itself is lawful (abortion is legal in Russia). This is a fundamental principle of the rule of law.

The Yabloko faction insists that a woman is a human being, not a demographic unit. Repression, fear and fines will not replace support, awareness and freedom of choice.

Earlier, St.Petersburg Yabloko proposed amendments to the bill “On Social Benefits” for pregnant students. The measures included children from seven years old. The faction asked to limit recipients to adult mothers only, so as not to provoke teenage pregnancy, but the parliamentary majority in the St Petersburg Legislative Assembly rejected them, replacing care for motherhood with a handout of 100,000 roubles (approximately a little over USD 1,000).

“These two bills absolutely do not resolve the serious issue of the demographic situation in Russia, and it needs to be addressed by other means. This cannot be solved with a hundred thousand roubles — these are economic questions, these are schools, nurseries, and access to healthcare,” Yabloko faction deputy Olga Shtannikova commented to journalists on the faction’s position.