The Western World Daily Readings on Geography Chapter 87 Russian Domain Population Geography I

CHAPTER 87 Russian Domain Population Geography I Abortion Created by from Noun In the of Geography that is called Population Geography , the focus very much is on births , deaths , and migration . Clearly , abortion directly reduces the number of births that occur . In this essay , we examine the role and history in Russia . Under the tsarist regime and influenced by the Orthodox Church , abortion was illegal in Russia . The Bolshevik Revolution repudiated both of these traditional Russian institutions , bringing numerous and far reaching changes . One ofthese changes was the legalization , by Lenin decree in 1920 , becoming the first country to do so . Unlike the situation in Russia now , there was no shortage of births in fact , allowing abortion to bring about a reduction in births was satisfactory for the new communist leadership . The building of socialism required the efforts not only of men , but also of women . The constraints and responsibilities inherent to a large family would restrict mothers contributions to societal change . Small family size , even if at the cost of abortion , would allow women , emancipated women , to participate significantly in socialism . The practice of the government in building undersized urban apartments as the city norm also was more than a hint of desired family size . In a truly ironic twist , Stalin reversed Lenin decree in 1936 , becoming at the same time that his policies were having millions executed or sent to Siberian labor camps . Yes , the population losses of the Stalinist Terror 422

DOMAIN POPULATION GEOGRAPHY 423 needed to be offset by a higher birth rate . The subsequent onset of World War II shortly afterward magnified the need for more births to offset war losses . However , since family planning services and the availability of contraceptives were very limited , significant demand for abortion remained , resulting in a black market for abortions . Following Stalin death , the brought a of many of his policies , including the ban on abortion . In 1956 abortion once again became legal , apparently due in part to the need to reduce the more dangerous black market abortions . By then a more and more urban population in crowded living spaces and with modest incomes far preferred the small family size . In 1957 abortions numbered over three million and accounted for a majority of all pregnancies in the USSR . The Central Asian republics ofthe USSR contributed few ofthese abortions , inhibited by Islamic repudiation of abortion , traditions of large family size , and higher rural population shares . Abortions in the USSR peaked in the became commonplace . For instance , in 1965 sixteen of every 100 women of childbearing age had an abortion . As a comparison , note that under the current legal status of abortion in the United States , there has never been a year in which more than one out of every thirty women age had an abortion . Abortion was the standard method of birth control throughout the Soviet period . As in other countries with legal abortion , in the USSR working women were more likely to have abortions than were moms . While the Soviet Union did produce weaponry and heavy machinery in noteworthy quantity and quality , the manufacture of consumer products commonly was both limited and . Access to foreign goods was restricted , as imports from capitalist countries were not favored by the government . This was true too for contraceptives . Few and poor quality were made in the USSR , while few were imported . Soviet men lamented this circumstance that using Soviet condoms was like wearing cement . The breakup of the USSR brought revolutionary changes to life in Russia , and some change to the practice of abortion . While still legal , abortions became simpler and less arduous due to the introduction of the vacuum aspiration technique . Contraceptives gained some access to the marketplace , though priced by capitalist market forces . In 1990 a majority of Russian women had never used any form of contraception other than abortion . At that time abortions doubled the number of live births . A serious consequence of multiple abortions is an increased level of infertility among women . At a time when Russia birth rate is low and the national population in many recent years have declined , it is disturbing that many women find it difficult to conceive , at least in part due to the effects of previous abortions . In 2003 the Russian government passed a law banning abortion after the week of pregnancy , except for special circumstances . By 2007 live births finally superseded the number of abortions . Given concerns over population size , for a number of years now the Russian government has set forth policies , such as financial incentives for parents who add second and third children to their families . Indeed , the number of births in Russia rose year by year from 2005 to 2012 with corresponding year by year declines in the numbers of abortions . Even so , Russia has struggled to have enough births to offset yearly deaths . Did You Know ?

Spontaneous abortions ( biologically occurring , generally due to the inviability of the embryo or fetus ) in , a city with a major chemical industry and now cited as one of the ten worst polluted places in the world , are three times higher than the Russian average and for the 19905 averaged over 15 of all pregnancies . Another study shows that for abortions were less common for women with higher education , more common as family size increased , less common with use of high quality contraceptives and more common for cohabitating couples than for married couples . For tabular data on abortions in the , especially since 1957 , go to

424 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL CITED AND ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY , Maria . 2008 . Russia Abortion Resistance Growing . News Online . April , 2008 . News Online . Julie , and Clifford . 2001 . in Contraception Are Reducing Historically High Abortion Rates in Russia . 2017 . Putin Next Target Russia Abortion Culture . Foreign Policy . October , Murray . 2003 . Russia Health and Demographic Crises Policy Implications and Consequences . Washington Chemical And Biological Arms Control Institute .