Abortion in Russia
Encyclopedia
Abortion in Russia is currently legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy
. In 1920, Russia
became the first country in the world to allow abortion
in all circumstances, but, over the course of the 20th century, the legality of abortion changed more than once, with a ban being enacted again from 1936 to 1954. Russia has the highest number of abortions per woman of child-bearing age in the world according to UN data. However, in terms of the total number, China has reported that it has over 13 million annual abortions, far surpassing the 1.3 million annual abortions Russia has., and India has an estimated 11 million, although accurate data is difficult to obtain.
of 1917, Russian law considered abortion to be homicide, and it was punishable by a 4 to 5 year jail term with the loss of civil rights. The punishment was reduced to 3 years in 1903. From then on, support grew for eliminating the punishment of women who had abortions, and for punishing only doctors. However, the old law effectively remained in force until November 18, 1920, when the Bolshevik
government issued a Decree on Women’s Healthcare, which provided for free and on demand abortions for the first time in the world. The legalization reduced the mortality rate
of abortions from 4% to 0.28%.
On June 27, 1936 the Central Executive Committee of the USSR issued a decree that prohibited abortions, while increasing financial help to mothers, families with multiple children, expanding the availability of obstetrical
services and childcare facilities, more strictly enforcing child support
obligations, and providing for minor changes in the divorce
law. Abortion was allowed only in exceptional cases, such as a severe threat to a woman’s life or health, or upon indication of debilitating hereditary diseases of the parents.
After Stalin’s death, the prosecution of women for abortions was stopped on August 5, 1954. On November 23, 1955, the ban on abortion was lifted, and abortions were allowed on request if performed in a medical institution. This resulted in a significant reduction in the number of women who died as a result of abortion but also lead to a significant increase in the overall incidence of abortion.
According to the Criminal Code of Russia (article 123), the performance of an abortion by a person who does not have a medical degree and specialized training is punishable by fine of up to 80,000 RU
; by a fine worth up to 6 months of the convicted's income; by community service
from 100 to 240 hours; or by a jail term of 1 to 2 years. In cases when the illegal abortion resulted in the death of the pregnant woman, or caused significant harm to her health, the convicted faces a jail term of up to 5 years.
". Parliament passed and President Dmitri Medvedev signed several restrictions on abortion into law to combat a falling birthrate and plunging population. The restrictions include requiring abortion providers to devote 10% of advertising costs to describing the dangers of abortion to a woman's health and make it illegal to describe abortion as a safe medical procedure. Medvedev's wife Svetlana Medvedeva
has taken up the pro-life
cause in Russia in a weeklong national campaign against abortion called "Give Me Life!" and a "Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness" by her Foundation for Social and Cultural Initiatives in conjunction with the Russian Orthodox Church
.
maintain the highest rate of abortions in the world. In 2001, 1,320,000 children were born in Russia, while 1,800,000 abortions were performed. In 2005, 1,600,000 abortions were registered in Russia; 20% of these involved young women under the age of majority
. Official statistics put the number at 1,300,000 in 2009, though Russian pro-life activists say that number is much higher.
Abortion statistics were classified
in the Soviet Union until the end of the 1980s. During this period, the USSR had one of the highest abortion rates in the world. The abortion rate in the USSR peaked in 1964, when 5.6 million abortions were performed, the highest number in Russia’s history. Nevertheless, the legalization of abortion did not fully eliminate criminal abortions. [E.A. Sadvokasova]
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
. In 1920, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
became the first country in the world to allow abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
in all circumstances, but, over the course of the 20th century, the legality of abortion changed more than once, with a ban being enacted again from 1936 to 1954. Russia has the highest number of abortions per woman of child-bearing age in the world according to UN data. However, in terms of the total number, China has reported that it has over 13 million annual abortions, far surpassing the 1.3 million annual abortions Russia has., and India has an estimated 11 million, although accurate data is difficult to obtain.
History
Prior to the October RevolutionOctober Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
of 1917, Russian law considered abortion to be homicide, and it was punishable by a 4 to 5 year jail term with the loss of civil rights. The punishment was reduced to 3 years in 1903. From then on, support grew for eliminating the punishment of women who had abortions, and for punishing only doctors. However, the old law effectively remained in force until November 18, 1920, when the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
government issued a Decree on Women’s Healthcare, which provided for free and on demand abortions for the first time in the world. The legalization reduced the mortality rate
Mortality rate
Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths in a population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time...
of abortions from 4% to 0.28%.
On June 27, 1936 the Central Executive Committee of the USSR issued a decree that prohibited abortions, while increasing financial help to mothers, families with multiple children, expanding the availability of obstetrical
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
services and childcare facilities, more strictly enforcing child support
Child support
In family law and public policy, child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship...
obligations, and providing for minor changes in the divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
law. Abortion was allowed only in exceptional cases, such as a severe threat to a woman’s life or health, or upon indication of debilitating hereditary diseases of the parents.
After Stalin’s death, the prosecution of women for abortions was stopped on August 5, 1954. On November 23, 1955, the ban on abortion was lifted, and abortions were allowed on request if performed in a medical institution. This resulted in a significant reduction in the number of women who died as a result of abortion but also lead to a significant increase in the overall incidence of abortion.
Current law
On Friday, October 21st, 2011, the Russian Parliament passed a law restricting abortion to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with an exception for poor families up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. The new law also made mandatory a waiting period of two to seven days before an abortion can be performed, to allow the woman to "reconsider her decision".. Under the previous legislation, the Basic Law of the Russian Federation on Citizens’ Healthcare (July 22, 1993), abortion could be performed on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, for social reasons up to 22 weeks, and for medical necessity and upon the woman’s consent at any point during pregnancy. Abortion can only be performed in licensed institutions (typically hospitals or women’s clinics) and by physicians who have specialized training.According to the Criminal Code of Russia (article 123), the performance of an abortion by a person who does not have a medical degree and specialized training is punishable by fine of up to 80,000 RU
Russian ruble
The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...
; by a fine worth up to 6 months of the convicted's income; by community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
from 100 to 240 hours; or by a jail term of 1 to 2 years. In cases when the illegal abortion resulted in the death of the pregnant woman, or caused significant harm to her health, the convicted faces a jail term of up to 5 years.
Recent efforts
The abortion issue has gained renewed attention in 2011 in a debate that the New York Times says "has begun to sound like the debate in the United StatesAbortion in the United States
Abortion in the United States has been legal in every state since the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, on January 22, 1973...
". Parliament passed and President Dmitri Medvedev signed several restrictions on abortion into law to combat a falling birthrate and plunging population. The restrictions include requiring abortion providers to devote 10% of advertising costs to describing the dangers of abortion to a woman's health and make it illegal to describe abortion as a safe medical procedure. Medvedev's wife Svetlana Medvedeva
Svetlana Medvedeva
Svetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva , is the wife of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and thus the First Lady of Russia.-Early years:Svetlana Linnik was born into a military family in Kronstadt, a town administered by Leningrad...
has taken up the pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
cause in Russia in a weeklong national campaign against abortion called "Give Me Life!" and a "Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness" by her Foundation for Social and Cultural Initiatives in conjunction with the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
.
Statistics
Despite a significant reduction in the abortion to birth ratio since the mid-1990s, the countries of the former Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
maintain the highest rate of abortions in the world. In 2001, 1,320,000 children were born in Russia, while 1,800,000 abortions were performed. In 2005, 1,600,000 abortions were registered in Russia; 20% of these involved young women under the age of majority
Age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized in law. It is the chronological moment when minors cease to legally be considered children and assume control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of...
. Official statistics put the number at 1,300,000 in 2009, though Russian pro-life activists say that number is much higher.
Abortion statistics were classified
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
in the Soviet Union until the end of the 1980s. During this period, the USSR had one of the highest abortion rates in the world. The abortion rate in the USSR peaked in 1964, when 5.6 million abortions were performed, the highest number in Russia’s history. Nevertheless, the legalization of abortion did not fully eliminate criminal abortions. [E.A. Sadvokasova]