New Mizulina anti choice initiative

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's Orthodox Church teamed with Conservative parliamentarians (actually Mizulina has a leftist record) Monday to push legislation that would radically restrict abortions in a nation struggling to cope with one of the world's lowest birthrates (2nd in a week?).

The legislation would ban free abortions at government-run clinics (it is not true) and prohibit the sale of the morning-after pill without a prescription, said Yelena Mizulina, who heads a parliamentary committee on families, women and children.

She added that abortion for a married woman would also require the permission of her spouse, while teenage girls would need their parents' consent. If the legislation is passed, a week's waiting period would also be introduced so women could consider their decision to terminate their pregnancy, Mizulina said.

During the time of the Soviet Union, abortion laws were liberal, and unrestricted termination of pregnancy became virtually the only method of family planning (absolutely incorrect). Sex education was frowned upon.

Russia's abortion rates are still among the world's highest, contributing to a fertility rate (???) of only 1.4 children per woman - far below the 2.1 needed to maintain the existing population. The rate has become a serious concern for Russia as it fights to stem a steep population decline

Mizulina said she wants to see public debate on abortions before the bill is submitted to parliament (does it mean the bill is not submitted yet?), an apparent attempt to build support after similar legislation stalled last year.

A bill proposed in late 2010 called for the criminal prosecution of doctors who end late-term pregnancies, but it faced government opposition and was never put up for a vote.

The effort to restrict abortions has strong backing from the Russian Orthodox Church, which has sought a more muscular role in society in recent years. It counts more than 100 million Russians (not orthodox) in a population of 143 million as its congregation, although polls show that only about 5 percent of Russians are observant.

"I hope that very soon we will live in a Russia without abortions," church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin said at Monday's presentation.

According to a United Nations survey in 2004 (???), Russia had the world's highest abortion rate: 53.7 per 100 (actually per 1000!) women (34.2 in 2009).

Figures from the Russian Health Ministry suggest the rate may have declined in recent years, though it remains high: In 2009, there were 74 abortions for every 100 births in Russia, a significant drop in comparison with 169 abortions per 100 births in 2000.

The total number of abortions recorded by the Health Ministry in 2009 reached nearly 1.3 million (1,161,700, see here table 1).

Mizulina claims (lies) that the official statistics do not include pregnancies terminated at private clinics, or those stopped by morning-after pills (what is stopped in the morning after?), and the true number might be closer to 6 million (fantsy, fan to see).

She also proposed that the law be changed to allow women to leave unwanted children at orphanages anonymously without risking criminal prosecution for child abandonment (it seems like moral excellence).

It was unclear how much support the anti-abortion measures would receive in parliament.

Natalya Karpovich, a lawmaker with the dominant pro-Kremlin party United Russia, who is expecting her fifth child, said she supported stricter regulation of abortions. But she said banning the procedure in Russia was unrealistic and would only lead to more children whose parents were unwilling or unable to care for them.

Moscow Global AntiChoice

дополнение про античойсиков (программа и участники):

Jacobs noted: "The Summit will include discussions of The Demographic Potential of Russia – The Importance of Pro-Family Public Policy in Russia and the West – Demographic Indicators of Developed and Developing Nations – The Crisis of Family: Marriage, Abortion, Contraception – Population Control – Influence of Demographics on Economic Processes – Human Capital and Family-Friendly Business Practices – Population Aging and Ways to Overcome Demographic Challenges."

An array of prominent Russian speakers will include: Metropolitan Hilarion (Foreign Affairs coordinator of the Russian Orthodox Church), Dr. Zhukov V.I. (Rector of RSSU), Bishop Panteleimon (Russian Orthodox Church Social and Charitable Activities), Fr Dimitry Smirnov (ROC - Bioethics Commission), Natalia Yakunina (Sanctity of Motherhood Program, Center of National Glory, жена министра железной дороги?), Fr Maxim Obukhov (ROC - Pro-Life Activities), Rostislav Ordovsky-Blanco (owner of Rosinter restaurant chain), Fr Vsevolod Chaplin (Relations of ROC and Society), Professor Anatoly Antonov (demographer, Moscow State Lomonosov University) and Igor Beloborodov, PhD (Institute of Demographic Research).

International Speakers confirmed include: Anna Zaborska (Member EU Parliament), Allan Carlson, Larry Jacobs and Don Feder (World Congress of Families), Patrick Fagan (Family Research Council), Steven Mosher (Population Research Institute), Philip Longman (New America Foundation), and Janice Shaw Crouse (Concerned Women for America).

Invited speakers include demographers, sociologists, economists, scholars, elected officials and leaders from around the world.

Jacobs noted the Summit comes at a crucial time. "It's not Russia alone that's experiencing demographic winter," Jacobs observed. "Worldwide, birthrates have declined by more than 50% since the late 1960s. By the year 2050, there will be 248 million fewer children under 5 years-old in the world than there are today. This birth dearth will be one of the greatest challenges confronting humanity in the 21st. century."

Jacobs said special thanks go to Alexey Komov – head of the WCF Representative Office in Russia and the CIS, and organizer of the Demographic Summit – and Russian State Social University Rector Vasily I. Zhukov.

To learn more about World Congress of Families, click here (www.worldcongress.org).   For the website of the Moscow Demographic Summit (in English and Russian), click here (www.worldcongress.ru).

for antichoice bill details see here (in Russian)

Moscow Demographic Summit to be Held at Russian State Social University, Once Home of Communist International

Contact: Don Feder, 508-405-1337; Lisa Youngblood, 815-964-5819; both with World Congress of Families

ROCKFORD, Ill., April 5, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs announced that the "Moscow Demographic Summit: Family and the Future of Humankind" will be held at the Russian State Social University (RSSU), June 29-30.

Jacobs noted the historic significance of the Summit's location: "It is now the home of RSSU, one of Russia's largest public universities with over 100,000 students and Russia's chief institution for educating social workers; But in the Soviet-era, it was the home of the Comintern, and then later, after WWII, the Marxism-Leninism Institute."  The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a communist organization founded in 1919 that existed to fight "by all available means, including armed force, for the overthrow of the international bourgeoisie" and the establishment of communism worldwide.

Jacobs noted the irony: "This building, once dedicated to the abolition of the family as a bourgeoisie institution, will be the site of a Summit dedicated to revitalizing the natural family and reversing the disastrous worldwide decline of birthrates." Russia, which is losing an estimated 700,000 people annually, is ground zero for what's called Demographic Winter.

The Summit will include discussions of: The Demographic Potential of Russia, The Importance of Pro-Family Public Policy in Russia and the West, Demographic Indicators of Developed and Developing Nations, The Crisis of Family and Marriage, Abortion, Contraception and Population Control, Influence of Demographics on Economic Processes, Human Capital and Family-Friendly Business Practices, Population Aging and Ways to Overcome Demographic Challenges.

The Summit will be the first international conference to deal with the coming crisis occasioned by the worldwide decline of fertility. Speakers will include members of the legislature of the Russian Federation, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, leaders of other churches and denominations, demographers, scholars, authors, activists and leaders of the World Congress of Families and its Partners.

Jacobs observed: "Demographic Winter has been a special concern of the World Congress of Families going back to WCF II in Geneva in 1999." Congresses in Warsaw (2007) and Amsterdam (2009) included plenary speeches and panels on declining birth rates -- its causes, consequences and possible cures. WCF leaders and experts were interviewed in the documentaries Demographic Winter: The Decline of The Human Family and Demographic Bomb: Demography is Destiny.

WCF Communications Director, Don Feder, was also director of communications and public spokesman for both documentaries (www.demographicwinter.com).
"We are honored to be part of this crucial undertaking." Jacobs said. "The Summit Chairman is Alexey Komov, head of the World Congress of Families

Representative Office in Russia and the CIS.  We're especially grateful for the support of the Russian State Social University and Rector Vasily I. Zhukov."
Click here for the English and Russian website of the World Congress of Families Moscow Demographic Summit: Family and the Future of Humankind. 

To register for the Moscow Demographic Summit and save $100 now - Click Here  or go online to: www.worldcongress.ru/en/register.  Register and pay early to get a discount!  If you register and pay before May 1, you pay only $150usd.  After May 1 but before June 1, you pay $200.  If you register after June 1 or want to pay at the entrance, the fee is $250.

For more information on the World Congress of Families, including the latest issue of World Congress of Families News, please visit www.worldcongress.org . To schedule an interview with Larry Jacobs, contact Don Feder at 508-405-1337.

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and people of goodwill from more than 60  countries that seek to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948).  The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson and is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Rockford, Illinois.  To date, there have been five World Congresses of Families -- Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004) and Warsaw, Poland (2007).  World Congress of Families V was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, August 10-12, 2009 (www.worldcongress.org).