Private clinics in Crimea will no longer perform abortions

Private clinics in the annexed Crimea reported refusing to perform abortions. The corresponding notification was sent to the Ministry of Health of the peninsula.

“Artificial termination of pregnancy in Crimea will be carried out only in state medical organizations,” the department said in a statement.

According to Konstantin Skorupskyi, the head of the Crimean Ministry of Health controlled by the Russian authorities, the heads of commercial clinics were previously offered to refuse abortions in order to contribute to the improvement of the demographic situation in the country.

The agency also notes that women who decide to terminate a pregnancy will be told about available social support measures in state hospitals. Female patients will be sent “for psychological pre-abortion counseling”.

Russian authorities are actively discussing measures to restrict women’s rights to abortion. In July, the head of the Ministry of Health, Mikhail Murashko, after a meeting with United Russia deputies, said that Russia intends to make it more difficult to access drugs for abortion.

According to the analytical company RNC Pharma, in 2022, the demand of Russians for drugs for the termination of pregnancy increased immediately by 50–60%. Experts believe that such a dynamic is connected with women’s doubts about the need to give birth to children in the current political situation. Another possible reason is the desire of clinics to stock up under sanctions. In Russia, drugs for the termination of pregnancy are officially supplied only to licensed clinics.