Vologda Governor Georgy Filimonov is advocating a total ban on abortion services in his region. Filimonov said on Thursday that his administration plans to meet with medical officials later this month to discuss “the need to abandon abortions, even in private clinics.” The governor recently met with the chairman of the Patriarchal Commission for the Protection of Family, Motherhood, and Childhood and conferred about Vologda’s “demographic issues.”
In recent years, the Russian authorities have grown more hostile to women’s reproductive rights, working to curb abortions in an attempt to raise birth rates. Last September, the Russian Orthodox Church reported that more than 500 private clinics across the country had stopped performing abortions.
As of late December, 15 Russian regions had introduced fines for “encouraging abortions.” Some regions have also offered financial incentives to young women, ages 18 to 25, including students, to give birth.
