The Russian government, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, moved forward with new policies aimed at reversing the demographic decline.
The Ministry of Health updated its recommendations for reproductive health controls and incorporated a controversial measure: referring women who do not wish to have children to psychologists.
Mandatory referral for medical check-ups The
new protocol states that, during voluntary annual checkups, women must complete a questionnaire with
questions about maternity.If a patient responds that she does not want to have children, the procedure indicates that she should be referred to a clinical psychologist.
In contrast, this recommendation does not apply to men.
Differences in treatment between men and women The women
's questionnaire includes 61 questions, while the male questionnaire has only 26
.In addition, the formulation of the questions is different:
women are directly asked how many children they want
and men are asked based on their “current circumstances”
The recommendation for psychological assistance only appears in the female case.
Official justification: promote motherhood The
Russian government maintains that the measure seeks to promote a positive attitude towards motherhood and prevent abortions
.Legislator Sergey Leonov defended the initiative, stating that the objective is to help women understand the reasons behind their decision.
