NewsRescue
The intentional termination of a pregnancy is murder, according to the Russian Orthodox Church, in a statement issued on Wednesday, stating that there is no “right to abortion.”
The booklet was presented at a time when religious leaders, conservative activists, and some politicians in Russia have been pressing for abortion restrictions, if not outright bans.
“The church unequivocally equates arbitrary surgical or medical abortion to murder, regardless of method or length of pregnancy,” according to a declaration approved by the church’s governing body, the Holy Synod. “For that reason, it is unacceptable to proclaim ‘a right to abortion’, which means ‘a right to murder’.”
The church also rejected the pro-choice argument that abortion should be permitted until the embryo reaches a specific developmental stage.
“Propaganda of abortion in any form, including in the media, is unacceptable,” the Synod said.
Last month, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, characterised abortion as a “national disaster” that ruins “the future of our society.”
However, President Vladimir Putin has declined to support calls for a complete ban on abortions. During his year-end press conference on December 14, he stated that officials should be “very careful” in regulating the procedure.
Meanwhile, the president has often stated that the government must urge Russian couples to have more children. Putin signed a decree last month designating 2024 as the Year of the Family and naming an official to oversee programmes promoting “traditional family values.”