Falling birth rates and a shrinking population have prompted new initiatives to discourage terminating pregnancies
A college in Russia has introduced an abortion-prevention course. The Primorsky Vocational College in Crimea said on its website this week that the experimental program will run through the 2025-2026 school year, with two events scheduled each month.
The aim of the course is to raise students’ awareness of the legal and ethical repercussions of terminating a pregnancy and to educate them on reproductive health. The classes will be conducted by a psychologist and a class teacher.
Among the planned events are a debate titled ‘Abortion is legalized infanticide’, a lecture titled ‘Abortions are harmful’, and an interactive lesson on preventing early sexual activity among adolescents. A class hour on reproductive health and lifestyle choices, ‘Honor. Conscience. Traditions’, is scheduled for later this month.
Abortions remain legal in Russia and are covered by national health insurance. Terminations are permitted up to 12 weeks on request, up to 22 weeks for social reasons such as rape or the death or disability of the husband, and at any stage for medical reasons.
However, falling birth rates and a shrinking population have pushed Russian lawmakers to propose measures to discourage abortions. Earlier this year, St. Petersburg lawmakers advanced a bill to fine individuals and organizations that pressure women into having abortions. Similar laws have been adopted in more than ten regions, while authorities in Murmansk and Pskov suggested alternatives such as paying doctors bonuses for persuading women to continue pregnancies.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said earlier this year that abortion-prevention efforts led to roughly 40,000 women carrying their pregnancies to term in 2024. However, she later warned of a looming fertility crisis, noting the number of women of childbearing age has reached a historic low and is projected to decline further in the coming decade.
Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported 1.2 million births in 2024, the lowest annual total since 1999. To address the trend, the government has introduced various support measures for families, including lump-sum childbirth payments and expanded maternity benefits. The Soviet-era ‘Mother Heroine’ award, which offers cash rewards to women who have more than ten children, has also been revived.
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