Why does Russia have the highest abortion rate?

Show all answers

Enio Giacomini de Salles

Russia's abortion rate is among the world's highest, although it is less than half of what it was little more than a decade ago. Between then and now, while the incidence of abortion was dropping, there was no change in the legal status of abortion. Rather, as modern contraceptives became available in the early 1990s, contraceptive use among Russian women increased sharply.

It is ironic that Russian policymakers are now leaping to a legal fix to reduce the abortion rate, considering that large numbers of Russian women have already stopped relying on abortion for birth control and, instead, have begun practicing contraception. The Russian response, however, may be just the latest example of an apparently universal political reflex: use restrictive laws to drive down the incidence of abortion rather than address its underlying cause.

berasky

Because Russians love kids and want to have them when they are financially stable and able to give them the best education possible.
Only 3rd world countries have high birth rates and high infant mortality. They have a baby after baby and throw them in the streets-hungly and ignorant.
The higher the education, the lesser the children. That's all over Europe, not just Russia. If you care about your kids, you'll wait and have few of them.

dsd

The reason behind this high abortion rate is the fact that the birth of a first child pushes many families into poverty.

Ruski

Religion does not play a big part in society. Alcohol abuse and drug abuse which leads to unprotected sex. Poverty and lack of self respect according to western standards.

jrr_hill

Because the effin Russians have been making effin mistakes for the longest effin time

High Jack

Not only in Russia, all over the world

Abortion will be done in the same place.

hec

For long time it was the only birth control measure available for Russian women. Old habits change slowly...

SimplyWhite

Okay, some of those answers are ridiculous.
Have you guys lived in Russia to be saying things like that?
There are diffirent kinds of situations and you can't say why exactly does Russia have the highest abortion rate.
Some people don't want to use any protection (btw, you can buy condoms almost in every shop, supermarket and drug store).
Most of those abortions are made by young 14-18 years olds and in their case it's better than having a baby when you're too young and stupid to take care of another person.

ktzenz

Because they don't have easily available birth control and there are a lot of reasons not to want to have children, such as poverty, lack of housing, lack of opportunities, etc. Also, abortion in the USSR was portrayed as a health issue, not a moral one - most Russians don't see abortion as killing a baby, but removing cells before they become a baby, so they don't feel a great deal more about it than birth control.

joshktexastech

Why did they have a high birth rate during communism? Why do ALL europeans nations and the USA have a birthrate of less than 2.0 children per parents? Which means, they will have depopulation.

The answer is complex and vary from nation to nation. However, I believe that in a extremely competitive global economy, it is a burden to have children. Some people worry that the next economic downturn will leave them homeless. Some people aren't wealthy enough to have children. People are becoming less and less religious, which promotes having children. In summary, having a child is large long term liability which is a no-no in a dynamic economy that we live in. There ARE negative aspects to capitalism, unfortunately, this is only one problem among many.

Furture F1 star

Because the laws make it so much easier to have one.

Russian-Babe

Because most the time, it's not even their baby. Rape is a big thing in Russia.