MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. The decision to legally prohibit abortions must consider public opinion and the negative experience of other countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at his annual news conference on Thursday.

"The decision should be careful, reasonable and based on the general sentiment in society and the moral and ethical norms that have developed in society. Nothing should be drastically changed," he noted.

According to the head of state, the abortion ban would lead to a growth in the number of illegal abortions, which has a negative impact on health.

"The practice of many countries shows that women go abroad for abortions, illegal abortions are flourishing and so on. An immense harm is done to women’s health and to the possibility to have children in the future, and the death rate increases sharply," Putin stressed.

He added that in most countries women preserve the right to keep or terminate pregnancy.

Earlier, activists from the Pro-Life national social movement gave Vladimir Putin millions of signatures on protection of children at the prenatal stage.