Rising abortion rates are deepening Russia’s demographic crisis. The Russian Orthodox Church is becoming increasingly vocal in urging a review of current abortion policies, putting forward a series of legislative measures, which include limiting public funding and introducing a so-called “Week of Silence”. In an interview with RIA Novosti’s Mikhail Yousef, Father Maksim, an archpriest and the head of the Life medical educational center, explains why the new measures are so important.
Mikhail Yousef: Good afternoon, Father Maksim.
Father Maksim: Good afternoon.
Mikhail Yousef: To what extent do you think the decision to limit government subsidies on abortion is justified? If adopted, will this measure reduce the number of abortions?
Father Maksim: In accordance with Article 36 of Law on Protection of Health, abortions are financed by medical insurance. This decree is contradictory: pregnancy is a being a normal physiological condition, so should not be eligible for insurance. If the law envisages the financing of abortion, then it recognizes pregnancy as a disease.
The committee on family and youth has estimated that large - even astronomic - sums paid by us, clinics and the budget are spent subsidizing elective abortions. It is immoral to persist with government subsidies on such procedures. This contradiction of legislation has been revealed, and a solution – to remove public funding - has been proposed to amend it.
Mikhail Yousef: In your opinion, if adopted, will this measure increase the rate of abortions or compel women to refuse them? The cost of the procedure, whilst being free in government hospitals, can reach 10 000 rubles in private clinics. If it costs the same in government clinics, will this provide an incentive for women to reject abortion?
Father Maksim: We do not expect this to lead to dramatic and immediate changes, to, say, suddenly decrease abortion levels twofold. Of course there will be a decrease in the number, but nothing radical. This is just one of many measures.
Mikhail Yousef: What are the other measures?
Father Maksim: Firstly, it is the need to establish the principle of protection of an unborn child. A child is a patient even prior to birth. His organs are formed during pregnancy and at birth he only changes his methods of breathing and eating. Unfortunately current legislation stipulates that babies simply do not exist before birth. The law thus should introduce this principle of protection, even if it is in a declarative manner. It would be a big step forward.
A different measure is to hold a Week of Silence. An abortion on the day of first consultation is murderous because it is an act driven by impulse in emotional excitement. It is often undertaken by underage patients who cannot be held responsible for their actions – they walk in, have the abortion and show no regard for its possible consequences, such as infertility.
By introducing the week of silence, the patient is given an opportunity to review her decision, consider other options, including adoption, and speak with psychologists, priests or charity organizations. Ten percent of patients do not return after this week. This method does not entail government spending, revolutionary changes in or the reorganization of the health care system.
Another measure is to set up additional abortion consultations.
Mikhail Yousef: Outside the framework of the Week of Silence?
Father Maksim: Yes. Finally, the last measure is to restrict the sale of pills for chemical abortions. Nowadays, children can purchase these pills without prescriptions. This is dangerous and many simply do not understand that by taking a pill, they are not solving a problem, but killing a child.
We think this series of modifications, if they are approved and enforced, will be the first step towards solving the demographic crisis, by at least stalling its growth.
Mikhail Yousef: According to statistics, 4 million abortions are performed each year. How accurate is this figure?
Father Maksim: Around 1.5 million, according to official statistics. We do not, however, know the number of illegal abortions, and it is particularly difficult to account for chemical abortions.
Mikhail Yousef: If the restrictions you mentioned are enforced, do you think they will prompt the development of a black market?
Father Maksim: No, because these modifications do not prohibit abortion or imply any new restrictions. Of course, not everyone agrees with this: in fact, 20-30 percent of the population believes that abortion should be made illegal. As for the black market, it exists even now. For instance, one can purchase an abortion pill over the internet.
Mikhail Yousef: How, if at all, can this be prevented?
Father Maksim: It is such a big, global problem, that it can only be resolved through a comprehensive approach. The legislative measures proposed make up only a part of the solution – they do not encompass or address the entire issue of abortion and demographics. And whilst these bans and restrictions are undoubtedly greatly needed, the key to the demographic problem lies in positive stimulation and reinforcement.
Mikhail Yousef: Should the government be responsible for this positive stimulation or should another organization like the Church help? Vladimir Legoida, the head of the Synodal Information Department of the Russian Orthodox Church, declared in March, that the Church might financially help pregnant women in need, on the condition that they reject abortion.
Father Maksim: Our foundation, the Fund for the Protection of Family, Motherhood and Childhood, has been practicing this since 2000. We have our own helpline that has been active for many years and is accessible all across Russia. At the moment, we are creating an all-Russia network of church centers for the protection of maternity, to help parents who cannot afford such essential items as prams and diapers. A different problem we frequently encounter is loneliness; the desolation of a woman who has been abandoned by the father of the child or by her family, or both. In this frame of mind, which makes abortion appealing, the woman requires the assistance of charity organizations.
Mikhail Yousef: Charity organizations supported by government participation or by the Church?
Father Maksim: The Church already takes part in financing such programs, but government participation is still fairly modest. What hinders the development of such a charity systems the most, however, is the impossibility to work with those who are contemplating abortion.
Mikhail Yousef: In what sense is it impossible to work with them?
Father Maksim: It impossible to work with patients when they are, for instance, in clinics or maternity wards, which are closed for consultation. There are no strict measures that would oblige one to discourage a woman from an abortion or to offer her help and support, even though, once again, abortion is the murder of an unborn child and a dangerous procedure.
Mikhail Yousef: Then why not ban it altogether?
Father Maksim: We support a ban on abortion. Of course any religions person of any faith understands that abortion should be made illegal, just like in Poland. But in Poland, 80 percent of the population is a practicing Catholic. In Ireland, more than 75% percent practice Catholicism. Unlike in Russia, these countries have reached a national consensus on the problem of abortion.
Mikhail Yousef: So is it a question of legislation or the nature of the population? Which measures should be employed and what are their chances of success? Abortion has become a demographic problem for Russia.
Father Maksim: The problem is apparent everywhere. For instance, Hungary has recently ratified a new constitution, which established that life begins at conception. Hungary is a country that is undergoing a demographic crisis similar to the one in Russia. Legislators in Hungary have made the first step to reducing abortion.
Mikhail Yousef: If you were to consider just Russia, which measures, besides those proposed, could affect the situation? Perhaps, increased propaganda or an additional set of incentives?
Father Maksim: Our organization has distributed millions of publications and films and has read lectures against abortion. I believe the population’s attitude is changing: since our establishment, 18 years ago, dozens of other successful organizations have been created.
But, the demographic crisis is not just about abortion. It is a lack of preparedness for motherhood and a reluctance to have children, which become manifested in abortions, child abandonment or even infanticide. These problems are inseparable from positive reinforcement and the protection of family values and traditions. If one looks at the different regions, those which uphold the traditional, patriarchal family do not experience demographic crises.
Mikhail Yousef: Could you provide examples of such regions?
Father Maksim: The North Caucasus. The number of births is much greater than the national average, even though it suffers from more severe economic conditions and higher unemployment. The support for and stability of the traditional family is the most efficient anti-abortion measure.
The demographic problem is influenced by other factors such as optimism about the future, interest rates on mortgages, a feeling of security; the knowledge that one’s children will be safe. The demographic problem is thus also one of immigration, health and accommodation.
Mikhail Yousef: Therefore solving it immediately will be impossible, at least with these measures.
Father Maksim: Yes, but it has to be solved and the first step has been taken.
