Abortions in Russia before and after the fall of the Soviet Union

Abstract

The initial section of the article elaborates on diverse attitudes towards abortion, and specifies the number of abortions performed before and after the fali of the Soviet Union. The following section presents spatial ćharaćteristic of the performed abortions against the largest Russian administrative units. Regional conditioning has been analysed based on the iiumber of abortions per 100 labours and number of abortions among women in labour age (hetween 15 and 49 years of age). The article also discusses the activity of non-governmental women organisations which aim at providing medical Information and participate in the family planning initiatives. Finally, the article presents the rules and conditions of allowing to perform nbortion and significant changes in Russian legislation on that issue.