Legal and moral aspects of induced abortion and family planning in Russia: results of an expert survey conducted in 1996

Abstract

The article presents the results of a survey of experts conducted in January-February 1996 in order to identify the opinions of experts on fundamental issues related to birth control in Russia. This study was part of the research project "Family Planning and Public Health Policy in Russia: The Transition from Abortion to Contraception in a Changing Society”, carried out by the Transnational Family Research Institute (Moscow) in 1995-1997. In total, 89 experts were interviewed, representing academic communities in various fields of knowledge (geography, demography, history, psychology, medicine, philosophy, and economics), public health administrators and practitioners, State Duma deputies, representatives of federal and regional executive authorities and priests. The survey program covered the issues of the legitimacy and moral acceptability of abortion, an assessment of the current legislation on induced abortion, an assessment of people’s acceptance of the regulation of reproductive function and of the most acceptable methods of birth control in the context of fertility trends in the country, an assessment of the activities of NGOs advocating the limitation and prohibition of voluntary abortion and the possible consequences of changes in legislation in relation to abortion and family planning. The overwhelming majority of the experts supported the unconditional right of women to decide the fate of their pregnancy. According to experts, a legislative ban on abortion and restricting the right of women to terminate pregnancy if they wish would not solve the problem of low fertility, and could only have negative consequences in terms of increasing the level of criminality in the country and worsening the health of many women. A quarter of a century later, the questions raised in the study of the mid-1990s remain relevant.