Acute Russian problem: demographic crisis try to solve abortion - Newsweek

At the same time, according to journalists, Dictator Putin did not support any abortion prohibitions, since on the eve of the presidential elections, public support for such initiatives is quite risky. Recently, the Russian Federation has been taking a number of measures to prevent the most acute demographic crisis that has intensified due to Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Newsweek writes about it.

Thus, the member of the State Duma of Russia Vladimir Seleznev last week suggested the release of women convicted for non -serious accusations, from prisons, so that they could conceive a child. Recently, there have also been attempts to limit abortions that are currently legal and widely available in Russia. However, private clinics in the regions of Russia are already refusing to hold abortions - allegedly voluntarily.

The head of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, the head of the ROC, Patriarch Cyril, was officially asked for a legislative ban on November 8. Moreover, the Patriarch proposed to entrust the development of the Bill of the State Duma Committee on Security, not the Health Care Committee. It was this committee that developed the law adopted in 2022 by banning surrogate motherhood for foreigners.

"There is really a demographic problem in Russia," the Patriarch said, calling for a nationwide ban on "women's promotion for abortion. " In fact, as the publication writes, there is an acute problem of abortion in the Russian Federation. "The country is huge and people are missing. Not to mention the economy . . . We really need more people, it is obviously recognized as it is recognized," - said Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with members of the Public Chamber on November 3.

However, the dictator did not support any prohibitions, since on the eve of the presidential elections, public support for such initiatives is quite risky, the BBC writes. Perhaps that is why after meeting in the Kremlin, a lobbying letter of the patriarch appeared. According to the authorities, private clinics in the regions of Russia, in particular in the Chelyabinsk region in the Urals and Tatarstan in Central Russia, have stopped offering.

This step is also considered in the Kaliningrad region of Russia. "The state should have a maternal protective function, and if a woman has already decided to have an abortion, then the most effective way to save a child is to take her under the care . In addition, the authorities also began to restrict access to pills for termination of pregnancy and emergency contraception against the background of a sharp increase in demand, which followed the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

"In 2022, sales of pills for termination of pregnancy increased by 60%," said Mykola Bespalov, director of development of the RNC Pharma analytical company. Until Newsweek was able to receive the response of the Russian Foreign Affairs, where the publication was commented.

Over the decades, the population has been reduced in the Russian Federation, and the situation has apparently deteriorated against the background of an ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which has a high level of losses from hostilities and the number of men running away from mobilization and traveling abroad. According to Statista, as of January 1, 2023, 146. 45 million people lived in the territory of Russia, which is about 530 thousand less than on a similar date of 2022.

Experts estimate that in the next two decades the Russian population will decrease to about 132 million people. The UN predicted that the worst scenario of developments by the beginning of the next century, the Russian population could be reduced almost twice - up to 83 million. In general, in Russia, in the first nine months of 2023, according to the Rosstat, which the Air Force refers to, just more than 953 thousand children - more than 31 thousand less than the same period last year.