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No more abortions at private clinics in occupied Crimea, Russian proxies say

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No more abortions at private clinics in occupied Crimea, Russian proxies say
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Moscow's Mayor Sergey Sobyanin attend the Easter Orthodox service in Moscow on April 16, 2023. (Contributor/Getty Images)

Russian-installed authorities in occupied Crimea said that private clinics throughout the peninsula have stopped providing abortions, the Associated Press (AP) reported Nov. 9.

The officials claimed that the clinics had "voluntarily" stopped offering the procedure, meaning abortions can only be accessed at government health centers.

The AP contacted two chains of private clinics in occupied Crimea who confirmed that they are no longer offering abortions. The clinics said the orders to stop the procedure came from management or officials.

One clinic said it has been a month since abortion services were provided at their site.

Konstantyn Skorupskyi, Russia's proxy in charge of the health ministry in Crimea, said in an online statement that the clinics had “offered to contribute to improving the demographic situation by giving up providing abortions."

Russia has been pushing for greater restrictions to abortion access under the leadership of dictator Vladimir Putin, who has cultivated an alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church. Anti-abortion messaging stresses traditional "family values" and the need to reverse the decline in Russia's population.

Officials in Russia's Kursk Oblast also reported on Nov. 9 that private clinics in the region had  stopped providing abortions. Authorities in Tatarstan and Chelyabinsk previously announced that local private clinics had stopped offering abortions.

Pregnant patients in Russia who seek abortions are offered psychological consults that pressure them not to terminate.

Skorupskyi claimed that around 21% of women in Crimea who sought abortions between January and September 2023 reversed their decision after undergoing the consults.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea
Russia invaded Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in February 2014 amid the deadliest days of the EuroMaidan Revolution that eventually ousted pro-Russian ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. While Yanukovych’s pro-Russian regime was murdering protesters in downtown Kyiv, around 30,000 Russian troops crossed i…
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Abbey Fenbert

Senior News Editor

Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.

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