New Russian Law Prohibits Inciting a Woman to have an Abortion

Deputies of the legislative assembly of the Kaliningrad region in Russia have adopted a law prohibiting inducement to abortion in the region. “The law On the prohibition of inciting to artificial termination of pregnancy in the Kaliningrad region was adopted by a majority of votes,” said Legislative Assembly Speaker Andrei Kropotkin. For inciting a woman to have an abortion, with the exception of cases of termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, the law provides for a fine of 3 to 5 thousand rubles for individuals, for officials - from 10 thousand to 20 thousand rubles, for legal entities - from 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles. The governor of the region, Anton Alikhanov, speaking to deputies with a report on the budget for the next three years, emphasized that increasing the birth rate in the region is one of the important tasks. The search for a solution to this problem, according to the governor, should become a “rallying point” for all political parties and the public. Previously, Mordovia and the Tver region adopted regional laws banning inciting women to have abortions, violation of which provides for administrative liability. In the Kursk region and Crimea, private clinics voluntarily refused to provide abortion services.