Russia’s Kursk region bans ‘coercing’ women to have abortions through ‘propaganda’ of abortion and childfree lifestyle

The Kursk Regional Duma has passed a bill banning “coercing” women to have abortions, reports TASS. Ekaterina Pismennaya, the region’s health minister, said the bill prohibited the promotion (“propaganda”) of abortion and the “childfree lifestyle,” including spreading “aggressive information” on these topics on social media.

Fines for violating the law will range from 3,000-5,000 rubles ($33-$54) for private citizens, 10,000-20,000 rubles ($109-$217) for officials, and 30,000-50,000 rubles ($326-$543) for legal entities.

In recent weeks, the campaign to restrict abortion rights across Russia has been picking up speed. Some regions have banned abortions in private clinics, while others have introduced fines for “coercing” women into having abortions. In several other regions, including Russian-annexed Crimea, private clinics have reportedly “voluntarily” decided to not perform abortions.

Since mid-November, the Russian State Duma has been considering Patriarch Kirill’s initiative to ban abortions in private clinics at the federal level. However, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko stated that Russian authorities “definitely will not go down the path” of banning and criminalizing abortions for medical reasons or in cases of rape.