Krasnoyarsk Region Legislation Targets Coercion in Abortion Practices

Legislators in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia voted on Thursday to prohibit the act of «coercing» women into terminating their pregnancies.

This legislation outlines «coercion» to include persuasion, bribery, deception, and extortion, but it does allow exemptions for healthcare and social workers who provide information about the risks associated with pregnancy.

The Krasnoyarsk legislative assembly emphasized, «Our main goal is to foster a safe environment for families and to emphasize the importance of having multiple children.»

Roman Tyutyinnik, the regional prosecutor, has suggested fines ranging from 3,000 rubles ($34) to 50,000 rubles ($570) for those who violate this new law, as reported by the regional news outlet 7×7.

The regional parliament of Krasnoyarsk approved the bill during its second of three readings. If it becomes fully enacted, Krasnoyarsk will become the 18th region in Russia to impose such restrictions, according to the women’s issues news platform Kosa Media.

In the meantime, hundreds of private clinics in 70 regions of Russia have ceased providing abortion services as part of what officials describe as a «voluntary» initiative supported by the Ministry of Health.

Concerns regarding reproductive rights in Russia have heightened as the government implements strategies to increase birth rates amidst a demographic crisis caused by an aging populace, deaths from Covid-19, significant emigration, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin has encouraged Russian women to have children while cautioning officials against enforcing strict legal constraints on abortion.