On Abortion Rates in Russia
It is often claimed that Russia isn’t Christian and traditional, but degenerate and decadent because of its supposed high abortion rates. I will explain why this is a terrible argument.
For starters, Russia is still recovering from communism. The Soviet Union was the first country to legalize abortion in 1920, under Vladimir Lenin. Abortion became normalized and accesible, being used as an easy alternative to birth control.
Since 1920, the number of abortions began to increase.
After Stalin banned abortion in 1936, the number of abortions decreased drastically. Unfortunately, after Stalin’s death in 1953, abortion was legalized again (1955) and the number of abortions increased radically.
It is calculated that in the 1950’s and 1960’s, 6-7 million abortions were performed in the USSR each year. In 1988 almost 6 million. Some sources put the yearly number of abortions even higher (10-11 million).
This is very similar to what the west wants: legal and accesible abortion for all women.
Has Russia recovered from the USSR and it’s genocide of more than 250 million babies in the past century? Contrary to what one might expect, it has.
Russia is actively fighting against abortion.
Since the year 2000, abortion numbers have gone from over 2.1 million to 553 thousand. That is according to Statista. The Russian Ministry of Health calculated even less abortions (450 thousand). That is massive decrease in abortion numbers, and a massive win for Russia.
Not only that, but abortion statistics in Russia include miscarriages. The actual number of abortions at the request of the woman is much lower.
In fact, the abortion rate per 1,000 women of fertile age is not 53.7 as commonly stated, but probably around 6. We arrive to this number by analyzing the abortion rates for 2020 and 2021 in Russia. In 2020, around 450,000 abortions were performed according to Russian Deputy Minister of Health, Oleg Salagay. Russian abortion statistics include miscarriages, so Salagay clarified that only half were at the request of the mother. So around 230,000.
In 2021, 400,000 abortions were performed, making the abortion rate per 1,000 women of fertile age: 12, and assuming that half of them were at the request of the mother, the actual abortion rate would be 6 per 1,000 women.
Abortions peaked in Russia in 1964, with an abortion rate of 169 per 1,000 women. In 1988 it was 127. To go from an abortion rate of 127 (1988) to 6 (2021) is nothing short of miraculous.
However, despite the positive trends, I am still very critical of the current Russian law with regards to abortion. What Patriarch Kirill has proposed: a complete ban on abortion in Russia, is what the government should aim for.
Besides adopting anti abortion and pro family social policy, the government should ban abortion completely. Nevertheless, Russia’s active opposition to abortion compared to the west’s support of it must be recognized and celebrated.
Sources:
- The History of Abortion Statistics in Russia and the USSR from 1900 to 1991
- Abortions in Russia Before and After the Fall of the Soviet Union
- Family planning in the USSR. Sky-high abortion rates reflect dire lack of choice
- Denisov and Sakevich, Abortion in Russia (based on a sample survey)
- Rosstat
- Statista
- Federal Law "On the Fundamentals of Public Health Protection in the Russian Federation"
- Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation