A law banning “propaganda” promoting a childless lifestyle has passed its first hurdle in Russia’s lower house of parliament, with lawmakers gaining unanimous approval for the bill promoted as a way to boost the country’s birth rate. .
Official data released last month suggested Russia’s birth rate had fallen to its lowest level in a quarter-century, with an aging population and the Moscow War worsening the slump, and a new law would force people to have children. It provides for the imposition of fines on those who are deemed to be discouraging people. In Ukraine.
Individuals can be fined up to 400,000 rubles (about £3,000), while fines for companies and organizations rise to 5 million rubles. Foreign nationals who create content defending childlessness could be deported.
“It is important to protect people, mainly the young generation, from the imposition of the ideology of childlessness through the Internet, media, films and advertising,” said Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
Borodin, a strong ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, proposed the bill as part of a “unified legal framework” aimed at protecting children, families and traditional values.
Supporters of the bill say it’s a national security issue, and arguments against procreation are part of broader efforts by Western countries to weaken Russia by accelerating population decline. He claimed that it was part of it.
“This is an element of professional propaganda, part of a hybrid war aimed at reducing the population,” said Elvira Heitklova, one of the drafters of the bill. “This is strategic legislation for a strong, productive, and healthy future.”
The bill comes as President Putin and his government officials seek to portray Russia as a bastion of “traditional values” and a bulwark against Western liberal ideas. Last year, President Putin called on women to have up to eight children to secure the country’s demographic future.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the decline in birth rates as “catastrophic” and said last month that halting the decline was one of the “top priorities for the entire government and the country.” Ta.
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This week’s bill raised concerns among rights campaigners, who predicted it could pave the way for further erosion of women’s rights.
“The message is clear: once you have a baby, it’s over,” Olga Suvorova, a human rights activist who works with victims of domestic violence in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, told Reuters. “Women are essentially reduced to being vessels for producing children without considering their circumstances, their motivations, their career and whether they want to have a family.”
Volodin argued that the law does not criminalize women who choose not to have children. “The decision to have children or not is up to the woman,” he wrote on Telegram.
She added that women are also free to discuss this issue with anyone. “But there should be no propaganda that puts pressure on women in their decision to have children. That is what is happening now in America and Europe,” he argued.
The bill is still in its early stages and requires two more readings in the House of Commons. If approved, it will be sent to the Senate for scrutiny and then to President Putin for final approval.
The bill marks an expansion of recent Russian efforts to suppress public debate in favor of what Russia calls “traditional values.” In 2022, the country’s parliament passed a law criminalizing acts deemed to promote so-called “non-traditional sexual relationships,” leading LGBTQ+ activists to argue that same-sex relationships are not publicly discussed in the country. He said he was basically prohibited from mentioning it.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report
