Church of uterus
Russian women are deprived of abortion. Who benefits?
It all started with Zhirinovsky
One of the first politicians proposing to limit women’s reproductive rights, was the founder of the liberal democratic party Vladimir Zhirinovsky. In 2000, as Deputy Chairman of the state Duma, the wave of panic caused by the population decline, he developed the bill “On emergency measures to change the demographic situation in the Russian Federation”, which, in particular, suggested a moratorium on abortion for ten years (and restrictions on travel abroad for women younger than 42 years). His associates in the state Duma was the Deputy Alexander Chuyev, who consistently championed the rights of embryos.
Newsthe Russians for 20 years, have become intolerable to treat adultery, abortions and same-sex relations
The initiative was rejected, but, as noted in the “Journal of social policy studies” No. 4, it seems to have made the first step to restriction of reproductive rights: in 2003, the government has sharply reduced the list of social indications for abortion from 13 to 4 points, and four years later they reduced the list of medical indications for artificial interruption of pregnancy.
Parallel to the fight against abortion led the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox community
Orthodox anti-abortion movement has begun that in 1993 the rector of the Church of the Annunciation in Petrovsky Park Maxim Obukhov founded the Orthodox medical educational center “Life”, the purpose of which was stated “the response to the murder of unborn children” (now the center is a partner of the Patriarchal Commission on family matters). In 2000 was established the hot line. Since 2006, thanks to the all-Russia program “Sanctity of motherhood” Andrey Pervozvanny Fund the ex-President of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin in Russia began to appear the same Orthodox NGOs.
In 2009, butts and priest Alexey Tarasov has released to colleagues in the regions the methodical grant on the “antiabortion” counseling. By 2015, according to Obukhov, disparate Orthodox centres and NGOs have become “a Church social structure, systematically working on the national level in collaboration with state organizations.”
The clergy dissuade women from abortion, even if they are subjected to domestic violence or they are not able to feed the child they offer to take care of the children in care.Orthodox activists supported scientistsNewsReading for the weekend. Philosopher: “to Bear children is a big mistake”
Support of the scientific community, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church obtained in the early 1980s, when Maxim Obukhov received an opinion from professors of the Department of embryology biological faculty of Moscow state University Dmitry Popov and Vladimir Golichenkov. It said that human life begins from the moment of fertilization and that the embryo “cannot be considered part of the mother’s body”, therefore, abortion at any stage is murder. This text prolifera quote so far.
Over the decades the position of the scholars from MGU has not changed: Golichenkov supported the initiative of Milonov to take abortion out of the MLA. His colleague, candidate of biological Sciences Alexander Molchanov, speaking at a rally in the children’s Day in 2014, said that the zygote is the first cell which is formed by the fusion of egg and sperm cells — “anything, in fact, not different from our organisms”, because it “possessed soul”. At the same time Molchanov said about the dangers of oral contraception for women’s health and the benefits of the abortion ban. A similar view in his interview cites the head of the biomedical ethics Department at Russian state medical University Irina Siluyanova, arguing that the essence of reproductive rights in “the willfulness, the desire to change the very nature of man, with inevitably disastrous for the nature of the human consequences.”
The doctors were forced to dissuade women from abortionNewsPsychologists and midwives will receive one million rubles for the fight against abortion
Since 2007, under the “prevention of abortion” in official documents began to understand the failure of women from interrupt unplanned pregnancy and not education in the field of protection. In the same year, the health Ministry at women’s clinics have begun to create offices of health and social care, which set the task to shape “the consciousness of need of pregnancy” — is simply to talk came to the abortion of women from this decision. As a means of agitation, the Agency approved sample informed voluntary consent for an abortion, which lists all sorts of undesirable consequences of abortion. However, according to the who, this operation is among the most safe interventions, if done professionally (in 2016, the model was modified).
In 2009 at the initiative of the Deputy Elena Mizulina introduced restrictions on advertising of abortions (in fact, its prohibition). And though the Cabinet has left a negative opinion on the law, noting that it seriously restricts women’s right to access information about legal medical service in 2017, the government has already included the promotion of non-abortion in the state project “healthy lifestyle”.
Doctors have the right to refuse an abortion “beliefs”
In 2002 the state Duma Committee on health and sport rejected the bill Deputy Alexander Chuyev on the right of a doctor to refuse abortion on personal belief or religion, appealing to the Oath of the Russian doctor, which requires the expert “to be always ready to render medical aid, to act solely in the interests of the patient, regardless of belief”. But by 2012, this argument lost force began to act paragraph 3 of article 70, “doctor” of the law “About bases of health protection of citizens in Russia”, in which the Ministry of health gave the right doctor to refuse abortion on their own convictions upon written request and in the presence of another specialist.
Amendments lobbied the working group under the leadership of the same Elena Mizulina, created at the end of 2009. Its exact composition is not disclosed, but according to Mizulina, it included the deputies, doctors, sociologists, economists, representatives of the health Ministry and the Russian Orthodox Church.
They also have consistently offered to oblige a pregnant woman to obtain the written consent of husband or parents for the abortion, force you to visualize the fetus on ultrasound, hear its heartbeat and to ban the free sale of emergency contraception.In Russia swept “Weeks without abortions”before doctors officially allowed to refuse to perform abortion on request, the regions practiced action on the rejection of abortion for a week (less one day).
The first mention of the campaign “Week against abortion” refers to 2007, is an event in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Orthodox Church and local authorities was timed to the Day of family, love and fidelity (the day of Peter and Fevronia July 8). After the adoption of paragraph 3 of article 70, “doctor” of the campaign received more popularity. They were referred to the children protection Day (June 1) and held in the Kostroma, Rostov, Samara, Voronezh, Omsk, Tomsk, Kurgan oblast, Kamchatka, Perm, Primorsky Krai and other regions. Orthodox doctors refused to carry out even routine operations, claiming that “giving women time to make the right choice.” In 2017 the children’s Day abortion is banned, the Ministry of health of the Chuvash Republic.
Introduced the “week of silence” and penalties for those who do not meet them
In 2011 pre-abortion counselling has become mandatory for women. At the same time the law “About bases of health protection of citizens in Russian Federation” there was a point about the so-called “week of silence” — a special period of time after the treatment of women in the medical establishment for abortion, during which doctors were forbidden to carry out her operation in the next 48 hours, and at term of pregnancy till 11 weeks — not earlier than seven days from the date of treatment.
At this time, the patient must undergo psychological counselling, during which the doctors and social workers affect her decision and convince to keep the baby.
In 2013, Mizulina introduced a bill on amendments to the administrative code, providing for penalties for doctors and clinics that gave the women time for reflection before abortion, in the amount of up to one million rubles, and for the pregnant women from 3 to 5 thousand rubles. In 2014, the state Duma approved the draft amendments, limiting the maximum amount of fines for legal persons is 150 thousand rubles.
To antiabortion lawmaking joined the Patriarch
In 2011, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill has written to the leadership of the country, a number of proposals to discourage abortions. He offered to withdraw the termination of pregnancy from the MMI system; to establish crisis pregnancy centers with the participation of a psychologist and representatives of traditional religions, where the doctors have to send wishes to have an abortion women; to force the health Ministry to put in front of a doctor as a priority task of maintaining the pregnancy; and also pay a media campaign condemning abortions. In early 2015 the Patriarch reached the rostrum of the state Duma (the event was historic — informed address to the Federal Assembly was considered the prerogative of the President). In his speech he also emphasized that “one of the main troubles of Russia is a huge number of abortions” which prevents sustained demographic growth and reiterated its call to take abortion — “a grave sin” from OMS.