Moscow Region Duma Holds Conference to Combat Abortion

The Moscow Times ^ | Mar. 28 2016 17:04 | Igor Tabakov

[Mrs. Don-o]

The Moscow Region Duma held a conference — titled “Therefore choose life, for both thou and thy seed” — to promote chastity among adolescents and lower the abortion rate, the Duma's official web portal reported Friday.

The conference was dedicated to combating the growing rate of abortion in Russia and preserving family, motherhood and childhood values. Attendees included deputies of the regional government, NGO representatives and members of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The conference aims to use lectures, seminars and conferences to promote chastity amongst young students and to oppose abortion, the official website reported.

Spokesman Igor Bryntsalov drew attention to Russia's national security strategy that aims to protect human life and the institution of family and morality. The Moscow region has shown natural population growth, but the abortion rate remains high — at more than 29,000 in 2015, he was cited as saying by the official website.

There were 930,000 abortions in Russia as a whole in 2015, the report said, citing official statistics.

Irina Soldatova, the deputy health minister of the Moscow region, said that 85 percent of the time, the decision to have an abortion is the independent choice of the woman and done for reasons other than health: housing problems, strained finances, absence of husband, other children present in the household.

According to Soldatova, Moscow is actively developing a network to provide medical, social and psychological care.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Christian country.

[House Atreides]

Good for Russia in this endeavor. I wish them success.

[PGR88]

There were 930,000 abortions in Russia as a whole in 2015, the report said, citing official statistics.

Putin and the government there realize that if this number of children survived every year, Russia would again be a European powerhouse within a short time.

[MarchonDC09122009]

There are likely more practical reasons for the Kremlin to suddenly become “pro-life”.
Russia’s birth rates still do not sustain a steady population.
Islam poses many threats, including a birth rate double Russia’s.
Ruskies, grand chess players that they are, think long term.

from foreignaffairs.com

In a December address to Kremlin officials, for instance, Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated the “effectiveness” of Russia’s demographic programs in reversing the country’s trajectory.

His conclusion, however, is extremely premature. That is the assessment of a 2015 study by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), a state university. The report points to some marked improvements in Russia’s recent demographic fortunes, with fertility rates, for example, rising from 1.3 children per woman in 2006 to 1.7 children per woman in 2012. But it maintains that Russia’s demographic prospects are profoundly negative in the longer term. “Despite . . . recent positive dynamics,” the report notes, “the potential for a demographic crisis is not over.”

[Slyfox]

Maybe we can move to Russia if things go to crap here.

Wait, did I just say that?

[dfwgator]

Go to Poland instead, all of the benefits of Russia without the craziness.

[Mrs. Don-o]

That's certainly true. Political demographics and an Orthodox "Sanctity of Life" ethic are working in tandem here.

[grania]

It’s been awhile since anyone’s stated the obvious. Western civilization is crumbling, now being overwhelmed by the evil of Muslim. The decline seems to be attached to an acceptance of abortion in a society.

[Ransomed]

I’m not really sure they can do anything, there was a peak of around 280 abortions per 100 live births in the early 90s, and for years before and after it was really, really high. They didn’t lower it to 100 abortions per 100 live births until 2006-2007. Then the rate fell to 42 abortions per 100 live births in 2012, from what I have found.

I hope they shock the world and just make it illegal, they sure have reason, like you say. But I wonder if it was just a lack of birth control in the days after the collapse of the USSR, or what.

Freegards

[Mrs. Don-o]

Secular, contraceptive/abortionist societies: rapidly emptying in both a spiritual and demographic sense.

Tagline:

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The very best way to do this would be to build a “model city” optimized for children and parents. With no non-breeding adults about. A clean and healthy environment, lots of outdoor activities, good schools teaching strong patriotism, plenty of churches, etc.

Special instructions to clergy to emphasize “be fruitful and multiply” and family values.

Very few jobs for mothers, and 9 to 5 paperwork jobs for fathers with a short commute. Liquor sold only by the drink, no smoking, zero drugs. Generally a dull place to live and work. Very good OB/GYN and fertility medicine.

Some subtle things, like tying promotion and pay increases to number of children, and once parents are no longer having children and their children are grown, they are “promoted” to a new city, making room for replacements.

There needs to be considerable design into living arrangements as well. Lower density, with a limited number of families and their children grouped together, with both private yards and a group yard away from traffic. The easiest and least stressful thing to do should be to have children.

Discreetly behind the scenes, the local government needs to work hard to maintain the family situation. Visitations by grandparents and proxy grandparents should emphasize an idealized version of their culture, and this means prepping them ahead of time.

Done this way, it will create generations of children ready to revitalize their country, spreading the advantages they had as children to future generations. Socially and spiritually repairing the flaws and blemishes with an optimistic and enthusiastic view of things.

[dfwgator]

Sounds like a lot of model Soviet cities, well with the exception of churches, of course.

Here is a description of one such place:

"Like other cities built to serve high-technology industry central to the Soviet economy or national defense, this was a planned model city with more spacious housing (including three-room flats for management), better schools, easier access to consumer perks like cars (it offered garages!), entertainment (a disco!), recreation (beaches!), a large telephone exchange, strong public transportation, comprehensive healthcare, and the perception of prestige in wider society."

The name of the city: Pripyat.

You may have never heard of Pripyat, but you certainly heard of its' neighbor, Chernobyl.

[LimitedPowers]

The very best way to do this would be to build a “model city” optimized for children and parents.

But: not everybody wants to live in Salt Lake City.

:/

[Mrs. Don-o]

American Lutheran historian Allan Carlson is worth a Google search. He has done some very interesting writing about family policy in the United States, which at one time (2 or 3 generations ago) was a government orientation toward strengthening natural families.

In the 1930's and 40's, the "progressive" call for a "family wage" meant that one breadwinner (the husband/father) could support the family, while the wife dedicated her intelligence and energies to being a true homemaker and family-builder. They (progressives!) justified hiring and promoting family men preferentially over single women. They favored single-family private ownership of housing --- not "projects" or vertical ghettoes like the notorious Cabrini Green ----as the ideal. Etc. etc.

The last Democrat who had something even minimally approaching this point of view (plus he was pro-life!) was probably Hubert Humphrey.

Now you can't find anybody that's really on board.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

It boils down to demographics. What is well established is that when a particular nation reaches an economic plateau unique to them, suddenly the birthrate plummets, from perhaps 6 or 8 children per family to just about 2.1 to 2.3. (Most recently this has happened in Mexico and much of the Arab world.)

Government and culture seem to be unable to increase this number, but they can make it worse, in some western nations dropping the birthrate to 1.8 to 1.1, which means their population is in steep decline. The birthrate drops with each added expectation and requirement about how to raise their children. Government and social requirements are toxic.

But there is one exception. After WWII, starting in Levittown, NY, real estate developers began creating suburban homes that were extremely popular to the returning veterans and their families. This began a period of explosive growth in the western US cities through suburbs.

Importantly, those who came to live in the suburbs were almost exclusively young adults who wanted steady jobs for the men, and a good place to raise their families. They had hit on the one means for a developed country to have significant population growth without substantial immigration: the baby boom.

And young married couples, with some prosperity and time on their hands, feel that the cultural constraints against having children have been lifted. And it is a huge help as well if government “butts out” of their child rearing.

As well, good schools and churches and family oriented recreation add a lot to the desire to have larger families. But it is also important that such places exclude those adults who are not having and raising children, and keep out tobacco and drugs, while keeping alcohol limited. Birth control and abortion, except to save the life of the mother, are right out.

It’s also a big plus to have good OB/GYN, fertility and pediatric medical services around.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Sounds pretty good to me.