Russia makes access to abortion more difficult for women

Russia has a demographic problem. The population is shrinking, but the army needs a supply of soldiers. Now women are increasingly being prevented from having abortions. For Kremlin leader Putin, abortions are against the interests of the state.

In his view, Russia's Patriarch Kirill has found the solution to the problem of the shrinking population: If abortions stopped, the population would grow again "as if with a magic wand". And his attitude has consequences for Russia's women. In some regions, abortions in private clinics and access to the so-called "morning-after pill" are already being restricted. Health authorities are urging doctors at state clinics to prevent women from having abortions.

Activists see this as part of a large-scale campaign. "When a country is at war, it usually leads to this kind of legislation," said Russian feminist Leda Garina, who lives in exile in Georgia. These measures sent a clear message to women: "Stay at home and give birth to more soldiers."

In 1920, the Soviet Union was the first country in the world to decriminalize abortion. However, the Kremlin is now gradually moving closer to the Orthodox Church's anti-abortion line. Russia is trying to overcome its demographic crisis, which has been further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, by questioning the right to abortion.

President Vladimir Putin himself has proclaimed himself an advocate of the extended family - in the name of traditional and patriotic values. He is against banning abortions altogether, but abortions are against the interests of the state, Putin said last week. He wanted pregnant women to "protect the life of the child" in order to "solve the demographic problem".

A "question of national survival"

For years, the president has been trying to motivate his compatriots to have children by offering financial incentives, as Russia's population has been shrinking since the 1990s. The war in Ukraine has given the problem a new dimension.

The Kremlin sees this "as a question of national survival", says political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya from the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. For Putin, any opposition to the government's positions on social issues is a Western plot. "This now also applies to abortions. They believe it is the West's plan to convince women to have abortions and thus worsen Russia's demographic problem."

Last month, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, called on the authorities to make abortions more difficult. This would allow the population to grow again as if "with a magic wand". Since then, more than a dozen regions have begun to prohibit or at least restrict abortions in private clinics. Private clinics mainly administer the abortion pill and ask fewer questions, says demographer Viktoria Sakjewitsch.

State clinics introduced counseling sessions with pregnant women years ago, in which they try to persuade women not to have an abortion. But the latest recommendations from the Ministry of Health to the medical profession go further. The aim is to "stop women from putting pressure on them, to scare them", says Sakjewitsch. Some regions have even offered bonuses to doctors who discourage women from having abortions.

Fear of abortions in back alleys

If private clinics were now banned from performing abortions, Sakjewitsch believes a "gray area" of facilities that charge for abortions could emerge. This would hit low-income women the hardest, as they account for the largest proportion of abortions. She fears a black market for abortion pills and possibly even abortions in back alleys.

So-called pro-lifers used to be a fringe phenomenon, but the war has created a political environment in which more radical initiatives are emerging, explains Stanovaya. Putin's own political camp is divided on the issue. Some men in the government support the new measures, but the most senior politician, Valentina Matvyenko, warns of "tragic consequences".

Observers fear that the latest development could be just the beginning. "We have to be prepared for more bans, more restrictions," emphasizes Sergei Sakharov, a Russian demographer at the University of Strasbourg. Abortions could, for example, be removed from state health insurance, as the Church is demanding.

According to political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann, the debate is intended to give Russians something to talk about before the next election in March, as they "can't talk about the war or the economy". The politicians are tackling the demographic problem at the wrong end, says Schulmann. "They should be tackling the deaths of young men, which are the main reason for the shrinking population. Instead of encouraging women to have more children." But talking about the life expectancy of men is taboo, while Moscow is sending hundreds of thousands of men to fight in Ukraine.