Kremlin targets child-free ideology: New laws to boost birth rates
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 is plagued by decreasing fertility rates. This issue is all the more severe because the proper population growth underpins most benefits and the labour market in a given country.
Therefore, it is no surprise that the Kremlin is increasingly taking the problem of low fertility rates seriously. In Vladimir Putin's country, this situation is further exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, during which many young Russians, and thus potential fathers, die or are maimed for life.
However, the declining number of men ready to start families in Russia is not as significant to the Kremlin. What is considered a much more critical "problem" is the increasing number of young Russian women who decide not to have children. However, it turns out that the Russian government plans to end this.
The Russian government is working on a law fighting the lack of children
Vsevolod Vukolov raised the issue of worsening fertility at the International Legal Forum in St. Petersburg. He stated that it is time to start fighting 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 Bielsat.
Such a strong statement by Vukolov may mean a return to the times of the USSR for women in Russia. At that time, contraception and abortion were banned entirely, while today, Putin's country is one of the leaders in the number of abortions performed annually. It is thus very likely that the new regulations will primarily target this right.
