Several regions in Russia and occupied Crimea restrict abortions in private clinics

A bill to ban abortions in all private clinics in Russia will be submitted to the State Duma in the spring, state-owned domestic news agency RIA Novosti has reported, citing sources.

According to the source, the draft legislation will also reduce the period within which abortions are allowed.

Several regions are now banning or restricting abortions in private clinics ahead of the legislation: Simferopol in occupied Crimea, as well as Kursk and Lipetsk regions in western Russia, have banned abortions in all private clinics, while Mordovia and Tatarstan restricted the number of private clinics offering abortion services.

Mordovia was also the first region to introduce fines for “inducing abortions” — which the legislators think can be done through “persuasion, blackmail, bribery, or deceit”.

Our map shows which regions in Russia and occupied Crimea have been the first in line to introduce abortion restrictions.