Russia's battle against child-free ideology: New law in the works
Can the government force young women to have children? The Russian Federation has decided to explore this question, with its authorities working on new laws regarding the fight against the "extremist ideology" of not having children. Young Russian women are expected to give birth—this is what Vladimir Putin's supporters want.
Like many countries in Europe, Russia faces the problem of decreasing fertility rates. This issue is severe because proper population growth underpins most benefits and the labour market in a given country.
Therefore, it is unsurprising that the Kremlin is increasingly taking the problem of low fertility rates seriously. This situation in Vladimir Putin's country is further exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, during which many young Russians, and thus potential fathers, die or are injured for life.
However, the Kremlin does not consider the declining number of men ready to start families in Russia a significant problem. What is regarded as a much more critical "problem" is the increasing number of young Russian women who choose not to have children. Nonetheless, it appears that the Russian government plans to end this trend.
The Russian government is working on a law to combat the lack of children
Vsevolod Vukolov raised the issue of declining fertility at the International Legal Forum in St. Petersburg. He stated that it is time to fight this "extremist trend" among young Russian women. To this end, special legislative projects are already being prepared.
We are currently actively preparing legislative projects that will prevent the spread of the child-free ideology, which says that today there is no need for girls—especially young ones—to give birth, and that we can do without children. There are many such ideologies of, so to speak, an extremist direction today, said Deputy Minister of Justice Vsevolod Vukolov, quoted by Belsat.
Such a strong statement by Vukolov may signal a return to the times of the USSR for women in Russia. At that time, contraception and abortion were banned entirely, whereas today, Russia is one of the leading countries in the number of abortions performed annually. It is thus very likely that the new regulations will primarily target this right.
