Russia Edges Closer to Abortion Ban in Quest to Preserve 'Traditional Values'

The Russian government could be moving closer toward outlawing abortion, experts and activists have told The Moscow Times, as its wartime stifling of freedoms spreads to sexual and reproductive health rights.  While Russia has historically had a liberal abortion policy — with the exception of the Stalin-era ban — the conservative turn among the country's leadership, combined with a push from the Russian Orthodox Church, have put a target on the issue. “The tentacles of the government are reaching closer and closer to our uteruses and our bodies,” said Eva Krestovits, a feminist activist from Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan. “Prospects for the future are horrifying.” Earlier this month, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko publicly backed initiatives that would limit the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs in pharmacies and bar all privately owned medical facilities from administering the abortion procedure.  “Reducing abortion rates is a key task that we are working on,” Murashko told a meeting of lawmakers.  According to Health Ministry data, the number of abortions in Russia decreased by 3.9% (16,213 cases) from 2021 to 2022.  Despite this, the government faces mounting pressure from the Russian Orthodox Church lobby, which wants to edge the country toward a complete abortion ban in its quest to defend “traditional Christian values,” according to insider information obtained by the independent Vyorstka news outlet.   Though medication abortion is considered the safest method of terminating a pregnancy, the procedure is only available in privately run clinics in most Russian regions — making the initiatives proposed by Murashko largely contradictory. “I think they want to see the public’s reaction and opinion on this,” said reproductive rights advocate Irina Faynman.  She said that the Health Ministry could push for legislation on stricter controls over abortion-inducing drugs, a move that would not introduce any significant...

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