Russia is looking to fight against the ideology of its citizens being childless, saying it threatens the country’s very foundations.
Russian lawmakers have proposed a ban on “propaganda of conscious refusal to bear children,” according to Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of parliament.
The bill would tackle what Volodin said was the promotion of the “ideology of childlessness” and the “childfree movement” on the internet, in the media, in movies and even in advertisements, citing what he said where frequent online displays of “disrespect for motherhood and fatherhood, aggression toward pregnant women and children, and members of large families.”
The bill proposes heavy fines, $4,300 for individuals and more than $53,000 for legal entities, while it’s not clear what would constitute a violation nor how it would be enforced.
“It’s obvious they are trying to fix the birth rate by all means possible, and that’s what causes a lot of worries, because it will be harder for a woman to make her choices,” Olga, 39, an English teacher in Moscow said. “In this respect, this is nothing new for Russian women unfortunately.”
“A woman’s purpose is to procreate — this is an absolutely unique natural gift,” Putin said in March.
Putin declared 2024 as the “Year of the Family,” and said that in contrast to the “decadent” West, it’s upholding so-called “family values.”
Meanwhile, in America we have JD Vance looking to get into the White House.
