Russia has long touted itself as a country home to what President Vladimir Putin often calls “traditional family values”, Ednews reports via Al-Jazeera.
The Federal Assembly has cracked down on the LGBTQ community, passing legislation outlawing gender-affirming surgeries and banning “gay propaganda”.
Now social conservatives have a new target: reproductive rights.
Terminating a pregnancy is a legal and widely available procedure in Russia, but in recent weeks and months, a flurry of new laws appear to limit abortion access amid fears of further population declines and a push towards conservatism.
In August and November, two Russian regions – Mordovia and Tver – passed laws punishing anyone found to “coerce” women into abortions.
In October, lawmakers approved legislation restricting access to abortion drugs, measures that could also affect the sale of some contraceptives.
Meanwhile, all private health clinics in Russian-occupied Crimea announced that they will stop providing abortions altogether, according to the independent news outlet Meduza.
Konstantin Skorupsky, head of the Crimean Ministry of Health, was cited by Meduza as saying the heads of commercial clinics were urged to stop providing abortion services as a way of “doing their part to improve the demographic situation” on the occupied peninsula.