Russian lawmakers in the State Duma lower house of parliament convened for a plenary session in Moscow on November 12, 2024, as reported by Reuters.
On Tuesday, the Duma passed the final reading of contentious legislation outlawing the promotion of childlessness, marking the latest effort by Moscow to counter what it views as Western liberal ideologies. With a declining population and low birth rates, Russia is striving to mitigate a demographic crisis exacerbated by its military campaign in Ukraine, which jeopardizes its economic stability. The Duma unanimously approved the draft bill, which targets online content, media, advertising, and films that advocate for 'rejecting childbearing.' The legislation aims to curb 'destructive content' that encourages a 'conscious' decision against having children. While the bill's authors assert it will not penalize personal choices or lifestyles, only their promotion, it remains unclear how this distinction will be applied in practice. Penalties for violations include fines of up to 400,000 rubles ($4,000) for individuals and up to five million rubles for businesses, with provisions for deporting foreigners found guilty of disseminating the prohibited information.
Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin emphasized the law's critical importance, stating, 'Without children, there will be no country. This ideology will lead to people stopping giving birth to children.' He further explained that the legislation is about 'protecting citizens, primarily the younger generation, from media content that negatively impacts personality development,' aiming to foster traditional family values. Nina Ostanina, a Communist Party MP and head of the Duma's family policy committee, noted that the bill seeks to shield youth from 'unnecessary ideologies.' The legislation will now proceed to the upper house of parliament on November 20, before reaching President Vladimir Putin, who is anticipated to sign it into law. This measure complements existing bans on LGBTQ relationship propaganda and gender reassignment. Additionally, the Duma unanimously passed a bill prohibiting foreign citizens from countries allowing gender reassignment from adopting Russian children, aiming to prevent legal gender changes for Russian children.
Moscow has increasingly positioned itself as a defender against liberal values, a stance significantly amplified since its Ukraine offensive, further straining relations with the West. The new bill would prohibit adoption by individuals from countries that permit 'medical intervention for sex change, including through medication,' or allow gender changes on official documents. Since 1993, 102,403 children have been adopted by foreigners from Russia, a figure Volodin warned against, labeling Western policies towards children as 'destructive.' Russia previously halted all US adoptions in 2012, citing the case of a Russian toddler who died of heatstroke in 2008 after being left in a car by his adoptive American father. For years, Russia has fostered an unwelcoming environment for LGBTQ individuals. In July 2023, it declared the 'international LGBT movement' extremist and made gender reassignment illegal. Putin has frequently ridiculed individuals who have undergone gender reassignment and LGBTQ people.
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