History of bans and permits of abortions in Russia and other countries

After the October Revolution of 1917, Soviet Russia was one of the first to legalize termination of pregnancy at the request of a woman. In 1920, the People’s Commissariat of Health and the People’s Commissariat of Justice issued a decree “On the Protection of Women’s Health,” which allowed free abortions in special medical institutions. Four years later, the law was amended: abortion was allowed only if there were documents proving its necessity. In 1925, there were approximately six cases of abortion per 1 thousand residents of large cities. The increase in the number of abortions occurred in parallel with a rapid decline in the birth rate.

Since 1930, the operation became paid, and in 1936 it was prohibited under pain of criminal liability – abortion was performed only for medical indications. The ban contributed not to an increase, but to a decrease in the birth rate, since due to the spread of “underground abortions” many women became infertile.

In 1955, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, abortions were allowed to all women in the absence of contraindications. In the early 1980s, the period for induced abortion was increased from 12 to 24 weeks. In 1987, abortion was allowed even up to 28 weeks if there were social reasons for it, such as the death of a husband or divorce.

According to the law of July 22, 1993, every woman has the right to independently decide the issue of motherhood. In 1996, the maximum period for abortion was reduced to 22 weeks (according to WHO standards), and the list of social indications was expanded (lack of housing, unemployment, refugee status, etc.).

The number of abortions in Russia has been declining since the early 1990s, by an average of 6% per year. In 2020, Rosstat recorded 553 thousand abortions (for every 100 births there were 38.8 cases of abortion). At the end of 2022, the number decreased to 506 thousand. At the same time, according to Rosstat, private clinics account for a fifth of all operations.

Active discussions on the topic of abortion as the main cause of low birth rates have been ongoing since the early 2010s. The Russian Orthodox Church advocates banning abortion at the federal level. In 2015, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family Issues, Elena Mizulina, initiated a bill to remove abortion from the compulsory medical insurance system and ban abortion in private medicine, but it was rejected.