70% of pregnancies end in abortion? Makes you wonder what the attitude was of the
government before the population crisis though. If there were no crisis would the impact
of women be a concern?

Features

November 24, 2008, 16:02

Anti-choice: A week without abortions

Authorities
of Novorossiysk, a city located in Southern Russia near the Black Sea,
had the final say in the pro-choice vs. pro-life abortion debate. From
the 24th to the 28th of November the city will conduct a "week without
abortion". This means that doctors will not conduct termination
operations, apart from "the most extreme cases".

At the
same time, Novorossiysk's maternity welfare centre will hold open days
during which information seminars on family planning will take place
and "educational" films will be shown. Psychologists and gynaecologists
will work with pregnant women in order to fully prepare them for
motherhood. The city's universities will screen films, demonstrating
the detrimental effects abortions may have.

A representative of the city's administration said that "doctors will
do everything they can to stop women from doing the irreparable".

A hotline will operate in Novorossiysk over the course of the week,
intended for pregnant women. Using it, they will be able to easily get
in touch with leading gynaecological experts in Novorossiysk. The "week
without abortions" was specifically timed to coincide with the Russian
Day of Motherhood, which happens on the last Sunday of November every
year.

The number of abortions in Russia is amongst the highest in the world.
Nearly 70% of pregnancies are terminated. In 2004 the number of
abortions in Russia surpassed the number of births by 100,000.
According to the statistics published by the national centre of
gynaecology and midwifery, around 10-15% of abortions in Russia have
complications, leaving 7-8% of operated women sterile. In Western
Europe there is, on average, 12 abortions per 1,000 women a year, UN
statistics say. In Russia that number stands at 54.

2008 was declared to be the “Year of Family” by the Russian government,
with the intention of improving the demographic situation in the
country. The propaganda of abortions and their advertising has recently
been banned in the Russian media. Other policies intended to boost
childbirth in Russia have included welfare payments for childbirth,
social advertisements and active improvements of the healthcare system.

Some creative programmes organised by local authorities included a day
specifically dedicated to "child making". The Novorossiysk city
administration insured that people were let off work early on that day
in order to give them more time to boost the demographic situation in
the country. A similar event took place in Ulyanovsk, a city in
Southwestern Russia. Here, the local authorities went as far as timing
the day to be exactly 9 months before The Day of Russia, with the
intention of having an influx of new patriots as a result.

Recently, reports have been made that the government's policies have
had little effect on increasing the country's population. According to
some studies, the growing global financial crisis places people under
stress, making them more reluctant to have children.

http://www.russiatoday.com/features/news/33696