A bill has been introduced to the State Duma that would deprive private clinics of the opportunity to perform abortions

The Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod Region submitted to the State Duma draft amendments to health care legislation that would exclude private clinics from the list of medical organizations that have the right to perform abortions. Such clinics, the authors insist, do not comply with the established regulations, do not provide women with consultations from psychologists and lawyers, and cannot provide the necessary assistance in case of complications after an artificial termination of pregnancy. Supporters of the ban believe that the initiative “directs society towards saving the life of a child and protecting a woman’s health.” Opponents warn of the risk of a surge in illegal abortions.

Nizhny Novgorod deputies propose to introduce changes in Art. 56 of the Law “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens”, supplementing it with the rule that artificial termination of pregnancy can only be carried out in medical organizations of the state and municipal health care system.

The explanatory note clarifies that the bill was developed “in order to improve the demographic situation in Russia and reduce the number of complications that arise during and after an artificial termination of pregnancy.”

According to the authors, an increase in the birth rate is possible, among other things, by reducing the number of cases of artificial termination of pregnancy at the request of a woman. They remind that the age of first-time mothers is currently 31 years on average, so the “bet on increasing the birth rate” should be placed on people over 30 years of age who plan to give birth to a second, third and subsequent children. According to the authors of the bill, dishonest policies of private clinics can prevent women from giving birth. In medical organizations of the private health care system, as indicated in the explanatory note, there is no strict control over compliance with the procedure for providing medical care in the field of “obstetrics and gynecology”, the “week of silence” is not observed (the time from contacting the clinic to the abortion), the woman is not receiving counseling from a psychologist, lawyer, does not provide information about social support measures, and lacks the ability and skills to provide medical care, including resuscitation and surgery, in the event of complications.

Let us remind you, back at the end of June, State Duma Deputy Speaker Anna Kuznetsova suggested that governors think about limiting the issuance of licenses to private clinics to perform abortions. She pointed to the example of four regions of the country in which at that time there was not a single private clinic with a license for abortion: Karachay-Cherkessia, Ingushetia, Chukotka and Tuva. These same regions are among the 15 leaders in natural population growth. In mid-November for the ban spoke Patriarch Kirill. He emphasized that already in ten regions, governors and ministers of health “gather representatives of private clinics and offer to voluntarily surrender licenses for abortions.” Among them are Mordovia, Tatarstan, Chelyabinsk, Kaliningrad, Kursk regions, Crimea.

The Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood, Priest Fyodor Lukyanov, commenting on the prospects for the adoption of the bill, told Kommersant that he sees “broad support” from deputies. “There are no questions even about whether this bill is necessary or advisable. There are obviously lobbying-type statements, but there is no such thing as mass opposition among deputies. On the contrary, the State Duma is determined, and we see understanding in the regions,” said Father Fedor. He noted that this is “an ideological bill that directs society towards saving the life of a child and protecting a woman’s health.”

At the same time, activists in regions where the measures are already working oppose the bans.

Thus, residents of the Kaliningrad region created a petition with a demand to stop the “misogynistic” actions of the authorities, which “will inevitably lead to the spread of illegal abortions” (almost 30 thousand people joined the campaign). In Kazan on Sunday there was a rally against the ban on abortions in private clinics. Representatives of the Association of Private Clinics of St. Petersburg, whose expert assessment was sought by the State Duma, warned that restrictions would lead to the growth of the shadow sector, and instead offered to co-finance pregnancy support within the framework of compulsory medical insurance in leading private clinics. The initiative of the deputies was also criticized by some representatives of the medical community.

According to obstetrician-gynecologist, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Viktor Radzinsky, violation of regulations is “the sins of private clinics”: “They need to be repressed, deprived of their license. What does this have to do with the entire population, which is deprived of the opportunity to go to good private clinics where these days of silence are observed?” He believes that bans will not correct the demographic situation, but will lead to an increase in illegal operations and “abortion tourism”: “We, specialists in the field of reproduction, obstetrics and gynecology, argue that people who do not care about reproduction speculate on the role of medicine in for your purposes. Abortion is an eternal problem of humanity that cannot be solved by prohibitions.”

Natalia Kostarnova