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Catherine_S
Guest
How to create a baby boom in Russia
*by **Steve Mosher *
Author’s note: I write from Moscow, where I am participating in a Demographic Summit with other World Congress of Families leaders and Russian officials. Abortion is rampant here, having first been legalized and encouraged by the Communists in 1920. Even* today,** the** average** Russian woman has** seven** (7!) abortions over her lifetime. Now we have an historic opportunity to help** reduce,** perhaps even** outlaw**, abortion throughout Russia. There is a bill in the Russian Duma that would place** severe** restrictions on abortion, saving the lives of an estimated 4 million babies a** year.** Here is what** I am telling the Russian people** and** their leaders.***
June 28, 2011 (Pop.org) - Some say the battle to save the Russian people is being lost: that the population is destined to age and shrink dramatically over the next few decades. Some even predict that, like ancient Greece, Russia will** extinguish** herself** completely** over the** succeeding** centuries**. I strongly** disagree. The government has already taken measures that appear to be slowing down the rate of decline. The Duma is at present considering additional steps to raise the birth rate. What Russia needs, of course, is not an incremental increase in the** number **of births. What is called for is a Russian baby boom.
By 2003 the birthrate had been so low for so long that Russia’s leaders were publicly voicing concern. Then-President Vladimir Putin warned the Russian parliament that the lack of babies was “a serious crisis threatening Russia’s survival.” Three years later, Putin put in place a one-time payment of $9,000 upon the birth of a second child, along with additional cash and** child-care subsidies** for** subsequent** children. The birthrate has been climbing since then, while the** mortality rate** has been gradually falling.
It may be possible, by* paying benefits*** to** pregnant women**, and by** making abortion marginally harder** to get, to** further** close the gap between births and deaths. The state should** stop** paying for** late-term abortions**. Doctors should be protected by a conscience clause. But what Russia needs to develop its economy is** a baby boom. And what this will require** is** boldmeasures that will fundamentally** change the way that the state protects life, educates the** young**, and interacts with the** family****.**
*by **Steve Mosher *
Author’s note: I write from Moscow, where I am participating in a Demographic Summit with other World Congress of Families leaders and Russian officials. Abortion is rampant here, having first been legalized and encouraged by the Communists in 1920. Even* today,** the** average** Russian woman has** seven** (7!) abortions over her lifetime. Now we have an historic opportunity to help** reduce,** perhaps even** outlaw**, abortion throughout Russia. There is a bill in the Russian Duma that would place** severe** restrictions on abortion, saving the lives of an estimated 4 million babies a** year.** Here is what** I am telling the Russian people** and** their leaders.***
June 28, 2011 (Pop.org) - Some say the battle to save the Russian people is being lost: that the population is destined to age and shrink dramatically over the next few decades. Some even predict that, like ancient Greece, Russia will** extinguish** herself** completely** over the** succeeding** centuries**. I strongly** disagree. The government has already taken measures that appear to be slowing down the rate of decline. The Duma is at present considering additional steps to raise the birth rate. What Russia needs, of course, is not an incremental increase in the** number **of births. What is called for is a Russian baby boom.
By 2003 the birthrate had been so low for so long that Russia’s leaders were publicly voicing concern. Then-President Vladimir Putin warned the Russian parliament that the lack of babies was “a serious crisis threatening Russia’s survival.” Three years later, Putin put in place a one-time payment of $9,000 upon the birth of a second child, along with additional cash and** child-care subsidies** for** subsequent** children. The birthrate has been climbing since then, while the** mortality rate** has been gradually falling.
It may be possible, by* paying benefits*** to** pregnant women**, and by** making abortion marginally harder** to get, to** further** close the gap between births and deaths. The state should** stop** paying for** late-term abortions**. Doctors should be protected by a conscience clause. But what Russia needs to develop its economy is** a baby boom. And what this will require** is** boldmeasures that will fundamentally** change the way that the state protects life, educates the** young**, and interacts with the** family****.**
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