Patriarch Kirill considers legislative initiatives against abortion insufficient

Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Kirill during the annual Diocesan Assembly stated that legislative initiatives in Russia aimed at restricting abortions are not enough. According to him, any “deliberate killing of a child in the womb” is unacceptable.

The Patriarch emphasized that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) welcomes any initiative aimed at limiting artificial termination of pregnancy in Russia. However, the Russian Orthodox Church cannot recognize any of the listed proposals as sufficient, since legislative measures allow for the possibility of abortion.

“The Church’s constant position is that the deliberate murder of a child in the womb is in any case unacceptable, inadmissible, and is a mortal sin and a rebellion against the Creator,” Patriarch Kirill emphasized.

According to him, abortions often occur not because of a difficult life situation, but “from an unwillingness to change one’s comfortable life and take responsibility for the child.” He also identified as one of the reasons for abortions in Russia the inclination to terminate a pregnancy by medical personnel or the close circle of a pregnant woman.

In November, Patriarch Kirill asked State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin to consider banning abortions in private clinics. Also head of the Russian Orthodox Church offered introduce a ban on inducing abortions in all regions of Russia. Amid the ongoing debate, private clinics in a number of regions voluntarily refused to perform abortions; in other regions, laws were passed banning inducement to abortion. In December, the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod Region contributed a bill banning abortions in private clinics.

President Vladimir Putin in December expressed his opinion that in the area of ​​restricting abortions we need to act very carefully. He said that he was aware of the position of the Church, but called for remembering the “sad results of the anti-alcohol campaign.”

Read more about the Nizhny Novgorod initiative in the Kommersant publication. “Abortions are in danger of being induced”.

Alexandra Goroshilova