Based: Putin sends a psychologist to women who don't want to have children

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.

As he explained, a psychologist could assist in cases of personal or relational problems.

A broader population control policy

The measure is part of a broader strategy of the Russian State to encourage birth

control.

In recent years, the government has promoted:

• restrictions on abortion

pressure on medical clinics

sanctions for discouraging paternity laws against the

“childfree” ideology

.

In 2024, the Russian Parliament banned the promotion of this trend, which defends the

right not to have children.

Fines and institutional pressure

At the end of 2025, the Russian judiciary imposed sanctions on a man for refusing to become a father for

economic reasons.

In addition, several clinics reported pressure to abandon the practice of abortions.

These measures reflect growing state interventionism in personal decisions.

Biopolitics and social control

Analysts point out that these policies are part of a logic of “biopolitics”, where the State intervenes

directly in reproductive decisions.

The objective is to reverse the low birth rate in a country with large land areas and a population in decline.