Abortions effectively banned or restricted in nearly half of Russia’s regions
Authorities in Russia’s Smolensk Region are planning to severely restrict access to abortions in private clinics, governor Vasily Anokhin announced on 10 November 2025. The official insisted the measure was only a “recommendation,” but based on the experience of other regions, such regulations make it virtually impossible for women to terminate a pregnancy absent a clear medical justification. According to The Insider’s estimates, more than 30 Russian regions now enforce either full or partial bans on abortion procedures.
The starting point for restricting abortion rights in many Russian regions has been the adoption of local laws banning the so-called “inducement to artificial termination of pregnancy.” Smolensk adopted such a law in May 2024, defining “inducement” as “taking actions or putting forward demands with the aim of compelling a pregnant woman to artificially terminate her pregnancy by persuasion, proposals, bribery, [or] deception.” Violations typically carry fines of up to 200,000 rubles ($2,500) for organizations, while in the Kirov Region the maximum potential penalty was raised to 1 million ($12,500) this past September.
SOURCE: The Insider, 13 November 2025.
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17-year-old college student gives birth in bathroom stall and leaves baby
Hospitals in her region of Russia had stopped offering abortions.
Students at a teachers’ college dormitory in Russia found a newborn baby on the floor of a bathroom stall. The child’s mother, a 17-year-old pupil at the school, had given birth in the bathroom and left the baby wrapped in a jacket. The mother and child were later taken to the hospital, and the two are now together under medical supervision. The baby’s life is not in danger, according to the news outlet People of Baikal. Local officials have reportedly spoken with the mother, the college administration, and her instructors, and they have requested her medical files. It is not clear whether they are forcing her to keep the baby.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the state has accelerated its pronatalist policies, urging women to have more children, starting at younger ages. Zabaykalsky Krai, the part of Russia in which the incident occurred, has introduced monthly payments of 22,600 rubles ($290) for pregnant schoolgirls and students during maternity leave. Meanwhile, many local hospitals and clinics across the region have relinquished their licenses to perform abortions.
SOURCE: Meduza, 24 November 2025.