MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Russia is moving toward the point where abortions will be performed only for medical reasons or after rape, Federation Council (upper house of parliament, or senate) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko told reporters.
"I believe that we will definitely reach a point where abortions will be performed only in the case of some kind of violence against women, or for medical reasons. We are moving in that direction, but of course the effectiveness of this work should be increased," she said.
The senior lawmaker gave assurances that the state will not go as far as instituting outright bans and criminalization in amending legislation governing abortion.
"I am absolutely certain that no bans, no campaigns, no pressure, no criminalization of legislation in this area could or would be able to solve this problem. And the state will definitely not go down this road," the Russian senate speaker said.
She recounted that illegal abortions were fraught with sad consequences: a black market for illicit medical services, rising female mortality rates, and other adverse outcomes.
The senior senator added that she has been following the discussion within society about the issue of abortion with concern. "Such unhealthy heat[ed rhetoric], fueled by ill-considered, unbalanced, sometimes provocative statements, including those of high-status people, is, in my opinion, unacceptable. I don't even want to comment on certain off-the-wall exotic proposals," she stated. Matviyenko noted that abortion is a complex problem. "Despite the fact that the number of abortions has decreased by 25% over the past five years, the figures are still very alarming. Of course, we are all thinking and working to solve this problem," the politician emphasized.
According to her, when a woman is faced with the choice of having a baby or having an abortion due to various circumstances, it is important to have the support of people close to her, as well as explanations from doctors about the risks of abortion. "We are very concerned that the number of infertile couples is increasing. Part of this problem [lies] in the artificial termination of pregnancies among women who then cannot become mothers, despite all the new technologies," the lawmaker pointed out.
Matviyenko is confident that the main tone of government policy in this area should be an emphasis on persuasion, support and concrete help. "It should be explained to every woman that the child will be supported by the state," she said, adding that it is often because of disadvantaged domestic environments that women take such a step, which they then subsequently come to regret for the rest of their lives.