WHEN THE CZAR HAS A COLD, ALL RUSSIA COUGHS...

The title of this article, "Russia Sees Rise in Pro-Life Views" gives away the subject.  This article was written fairly recently--September 2010.  It states that the current law in Russia allows women to demand an abortion up to "12 weeks gestation, up to 22 weeks for social reasons, and at any point during pregnancy for 'medical necessity'.  The 'service' is offered free of charge at all state clinics".  These regulations are pretty open.  It makes me wonder what "social reasons" would mean by law.  

This article posts a little chart on the social reasons for and against abortion.  See:

"Social reasons" can be an umbrella category.  What constitutes a social reason?  If being plus size or obese is highly frowned upon in society, could a woman opt for a legal abortion because she doesn't want to get fat?  Seems to be too broad and whenever you create laws, you must create them with a certain balance between being broad, but not too specific either.  

A man from Human Life International (HLI), Joseph Meaney, says, "Russia has had some of the worst abortion legislation in the world since the 1920s...and basically, abortion was a way of life under communism".  Meaney speculates that the increase in pro-life views is from the fact that Russia is dying out.  He says their population "...has actually shrunk by over 12 million people just since 1992...so literally, Russia is a dying country, and abortion is one of the main reasons for it".


 When I first read this, I thought his statement that abortion is directly correlated to the decreasing population was a bold statement.  I would think there is other reasons, which he does give.  He says that, "life expectancy is lessening in the country due to alcohol, drug abuse, and, to some extent, AIDS".  But he goes on to add that:

 
Abortions are actually interfering with Russia's labor and employment.  HLI reports indicate that the work force is decreasing rapidly.  Meaney states, "...they desperately need more children, not only to fill their country, but even to fill their workforce, and it's just not happening".  This is happening in other places around the world, including many European countries.  These places are forced to import labor (mainly Muslims) because there aren't enough people in the hiring population in their country.  I found it interesting that abortion causes problems well beyond it's own question of legality.  Loose abortion laws have created many social problems for countries that take time and resources from institutions.