Birth Control in Russia: What do official statistics and sample surveys show?

Abstract

The Soviet 'abortion culture' is a thing of the past. Russia has lost its position as the world leader in abortions, and it has taken an average position in the rankings of developed countries. However, in the context of a pronatalist demographic policy and a 'conservative turn' in the country, the issues of abortion and family planning continue to attract increasing attention from politicians and the public. Unreliable and distorted information is often provided in public discussions. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current situation in the field of birth control in Russia based on reliable and trustworthy sources. The authors reveal a favorable trend in the transition from abortion as a means of birth control to modern family planning. The trends in induced and spontaneous abortions are examined separately; the latter account for half of the annual number of abortions. The authors assess the contribution of the non-state sector to the provision of abortion care. They show that, along with a general decrease in the prevalence of abortions in Russia, there is a redistribution of abortions in favor of the private sector, that is, from the insurance sector to the commercial one. In 2022, the proportion of induced abortions carried out in non-state clinics exceeded 30 %. Meanwhile, the State Duma is considering a bill to ban abortions in private clinics. The final part of the article analyz es the new stage of birth control policy and discusses the possible consequences of the proposed anti-abortion measures in Russia. The authors consider the tendency to limit the availability of artificial abortions as an ineffective measure from a demographic point of view.