MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2021) The number of abortions in Russia has decreased by nearly 40 percent since 2016, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Tuesday.
"I want to note that since 2016, the number of abortions in the Russian Federation has decreased by 39 percent," Golikova said at a government meeting, noting that there is a potential to improve the situation.
The official also said that over the past year, more than 230,000 women were consulted amid the coronavirus pandemic in the centers of medical and social support for pregnant women in difficult life situations. Some 22 percent of them decided not to terminate their pregnancy after the consultations.
In early March, Russian lawmaker Inga Iumasheva proposed banning private clinics from administering abortions, toughening drug regulations and forbidding minors to abort without parental supervision as part of an initiative aimed at reducing the number of abortions in Russia. The initiative triggered controversy among some lawmakers, with the opponents claiming that restricting the right of women to abortion can lead to a "catastrophe."
The Russian Orthodox Church has also repeatedly proposed initiatives restricting women's right to abortion, such as the removal of the procedure from the compulsory health insurance system or the inclusion of abortion in the mortality rate. The Russian government does not support these proposals due to a downward trend in the number of abortions across the country in recent years.
