Russia
STATS
Russian women with women from other Central-Eastern European countries account for up to a third of the 30 to 40 million abortions done legally each year in the world. These women have approximately 1,696 abortions for every 1,000 childbirths, as opposed to women in the European Union who only have approximately 193 abortions for every 1,000 childbirths.
HISTORY OF CONTRACEPTION
Old contraceptives included condoms that broke and pills that needed to be taken in large dosages. These both had high failure rates and were considered either unavailable in sufficient quantities or unaffordable for
the majority of the population. When the Soviet Union was forging a "new Communist society" where it gave some constitutional equality to women, it decided to legalize abortion in the wake of the Russian revolution. At this
time, in 1920, Russia's abortion law was the most progressive in the world. This law was kept until 1936 when the government wanted to increase the birthrate so the country had more workers and soldiers, and so outlawed abortions. The law was brought back to life in 1957 so that abortion was made legal again, and the rest of Eastern Europe followed, usually making abortion free. Unfortunately, contraception never had a chance to take root in this part of the world because the liberalization of abortion took place before the coming on of contraception.
REASONS WHY
Abortion makes sense economically in today's Russian society for several
reasons. In today's prevailing free-market order, many women find it almost impossible to find modern contraceptives or afford them. Contraceptives seem
to cost a small amount of money, since a month's supply of hormonal contraceptives costs from $1.50 to $10. However, this is based on a salary that is just $20 a month, causing a package of spermicide to cost two thirds of the monthly salary. Right now Russian women are mostly unemployed or get paid a tiny salary for what minimal jobs are available, while at the same time just about every public health system in the country has taken away from the once-free state benefits and no longer cover the cost of contraceptives. Most couples won't spend a large amount of money on contraception and would rather risk it.
In addition to the poor economic status of women, doctors are also not doing as well as they should be in Russia. This leads them to want to do whatever they have to in order to bring in the money. "The present plague of
abortions is a source of considerable and regular income for the doctors," found the World Health Organization.
NOW
In Russia today, an abortion is legal at any point in the pregnancy for medical reasons, and up to 22 weeks for social reasons. In the history of Russia, the moral aspect of abortion never played much of a role. However, as
the Russian Orthodox Church begins to speak out against abortion, many other women are joining its side of pro-life. People, more specifically women, are trying to find much more healthier, affordable, and effective ways of not
having the children. They are looking into improving the quality and quantity of contraceptives that are available in Russia right now. In addition, family planning centers are being established for those who either can't afford
contraceptives or would rather not use them. At present, there are now almost 300 family planning centers in Russia.
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