"Zaberemenev - give birth": Experts on the Russian campaign against abortion
In February in the Moscow metro appeared advertising site YourConsultation.rf with the slogan "Get pregnant - give birth", the face of which is the opera singer Svetlana Kasyan. The poster of the project reports that it is supported by the Moscow government, and on the website of TvoyKonsultation.org says that when it was created, the means of state support for socially oriented NGOs were used.
The website "Your Consultation" is owned by the autonomous non-profit organization "Let's Save Life Together", created last summer. It "implements programs aimed at protecting the family, motherhood and childhood, protecting the rights of intrauterine children to life before birth, as well as reducing the number of abortions and refusals from newborn children in our country." Together with the Patriarchal Commission on Family, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood, the organization consults pregnant women in crisis situations; In addition to the site "Your Consultation", it also has a national hotline. The call center employees also promise face-to-face consultations, social support for pregnant women and, if necessary, assistance in managing the pregnancy and consultation with various specialists - gynecologists and psychologists.
On the site "Your Consultation" there are two sections with tips "for her" and "for him." They are moving forward with the idea of refusing abortion and preserving pregnancy in any crisis situation, including if the pregnancy occurred after rape: “But a conceived child is another person. He’s not equal to his father. He’s very tiny, helpless and not guilty about what happened. 50% of your genes are his. The heartache of a situation of rape often overshadows these obvious things in the eyes of a woman. "
Ideas aimed at the empowerment of women (“With modern medicine advances to give birth at 40 years old and later is not a problem,” “Many pregnant women who are left alone are afraid that the child will prevent them from getting married in the future. If it happened , remember that the birth of a child cannot become a hindrance in order to create a family with another man, if he is set up for a serious relationship "), interspersed with unconfirmed facts and manipulative wording:" By the way, women who go to the sperm bank also do not know , who will be the biological father, "says the section on pregnancy after rape; "If you insist on your own and do not have an abortion, then most likely this man will stay with you and be connected with you through the child. Nature said that the man sees the woman as the future mother of her children, and therefore your decision is towards birth the child, even contrary to his advice, will help strengthen the relationship. "
Each of the tips for men is almost twice as large as the tips for women, but they are given only about four situations: “I think this is not my child!”, “I have a family, but another woman is pregnant from me!”, "She is pregnant. Can I cope?", "I do not want to start a family!". At the same time, in the sections aimed at men, the idea is advanced that a man should persuade a woman to leave the child, regardless of whether he is going to take part in his upbringing or not: "And if you don’t want to educate him, then let him appear to the world - what you can do for him, "" Fortunately, women who have given birth to children from married men can be happy in their motherhood and parenthood, even if it is lonely. "
We asked independent specialists dealing with women's issues and reproductive health issues — a lawyer, an obstetrician-gynecologist, a counseling psychologist, and a sociologist — to comment on the materials of the website “Your Consultation” and the position of the organization.
An abortion carries a serious risk to your health, and it can be more traumatic in the future than even the rape situation itself, the more it is over.
If you are not pregnant and panicked at every delay, are afraid of its occurrence, are not confident in the relationship or there are other reasons for panic, then the most honest way to yourself will be to delay sexual contact for a more favorable time.
Yours Consultation.rf
The site materials are written in a good literary language, the site structure is convenient. However, nowhere on the site there is information that the organization created it, who sponsors, who is an expert, who is the author of the texts. This is a bad prognostic sign, I do not recommend my patients to use anonymous sites and urge not to believe the information placed on them. The absence of such information hides the true intentions and tasks of the information resource, brings the site out of the legal field.
The information on the site contradicts the internationally recognized reproductive human rights enshrined in Russian legislation and international documents and the UN conventions ratified by the Russian Federation, as it does not leave a woman with unwanted pregnancy any other options except for gestation and childbirth.
In fact, this Russian-language site is a typical work of the proliferation movement prevalent in the United States, where religious fundamentalist positions of groups of influence are strong, in fact, contrary to both common sense and reproductive autonomy of women. The materials of the site impose a sense of guilt if a woman plans to make a different decision and choose a legal (!) Termination of an unwanted pregnancy. There is not a word about other unwanted pregnancy outcomes on the site - even in the case of pregnancy due to rape of a woman, this information is not available. And this is not cruelty - this is the intentional position of the authors of the site. Failure to provide such information speaks of hidden goals: to mislead a woman in order to delay her visit to the doctor at a time when the gestation period will be more than 12 weeks so that she cannot make a choice in favor of an abortion. The Constitution of the Russian Federation against forced maternity and parenthood, and Russian legislation allows a woman to terminate an unwanted pregnancy at will, for periods up to 12 weeks, that is, for no apparent reason to others or serious reasons.
The information posted on the site manipulates the reader’s mind, its feelings and, ultimately, its fate. No one (especially an anonymous site!) Is responsible for the choice of a woman regarding pregnancy, and no one has the right to direct her and force her to make any choice - this right is under her exclusive jurisdiction. These are her risks and her responsibility.
In order to reduce the level of abortions due to unwanted pregnancies, it is useless to “work” with a woman regarding her making the “right” decision, as she sees it, after the pregnancy has already occurred. For women who do not plan to become mothers, we need information and educational programs for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, that is, the use of modern contraceptives. If an unwanted pregnancy nevertheless has arisen, the woman should be given full and comprehensive information about all possible outcomes, including also artificial termination of pregnancy at the request of the woman for up to 12 weeks, for social reasons (meaning rape) up to 22 weeks and for medical indications for any period of pregnancy.
Truth be told, as long as a man and a woman have a sexual relationship, there is always a chance of conception. There is only one way that gives a 100% guarantee - this is the absence of sexual contact.
No way of abortion is safe, either has its consequences. If this is your future wife, then abortion is a bad family foundation. And what promise will a woman get from you, as from a man? No man would not want to admit to himself honestly that his future wife would have abortions.
Yours Consultation.rf
Unplanned pregnancy for most Russian women is a risk situation, primarily from an economic point of view. Institutional assistance and support are needed, as mentioned in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in the Russian Federation: regardless of place of residence, age and ethnicity, medical and social services should be available, the ability to save a workplace after maternity leave, and so on. There is a clear criterion of the effectiveness of the social policy of the state: pregnancy should not put women on the brink of survival. The creators of the portal "Your Consultation" themselves report that there is a great demand for such help and advice. This indicates that during an unplanned pregnancy, women are actively seeking help and support. However, the information presented on the site is ideological, not “service”.
A little research on the Internet reveals that a hotline is supported by a structure that uses the proliferation movement rhetoric, which originates in ultraconservative circles in the United States. Under the guise of social assistance, the ideology of total non-abortion is being promoted, without taking into account the situation in which a woman is and her interests. It is impossible to discuss this project as a social service, since there are no people or social groups that could be supported by the imposed sense of guilt and manipulation, especially if they are in an unfavorable economic situation. Reducing abortions and infanticide (killing newborns) is facilitated by the creation of a network of shelters for young mothers, special programs of financial and other material support, baby boxes, in a broader context - ensuring gender equality in the labor market, access to medical services and justice in a situation of discrimination and violence and so on. Unfortunately, this project, like all others like it, transfers all responsibility to women, including the onset of an unplanned pregnancy, and does not imply anything concrete in the real social support sphere.
Practice shows that a man basically connects his life with a woman through a child. And, on the contrary, abortion is a further psychological barrier between a woman and a man. Most couples after an abortion either fall apart, or an insurmountable abyss of mistrust, pain, and estrangement arises between a woman and a man.
Perhaps this pregnancy is your last chance, given by nature and God, to experience the joy of motherhood and the joy of meeting some completely new, but at the same time dear person. Native people too much does not happen!
Yours Consultation.rf
Site materials clearly discriminate against women. The main goal of the authors of the site is obvious: to convince women in any way to give birth. Authors are clearly not interested in women themselves, nor their health, nor the specific life situation, or, in the end, their desires. A woman is not considered on the site as a person, for the authors of the site a woman is an incubator, and to give birth is her main function. That is why the site is so easy to give advice from the series "to give birth to the main thing, and there is money," "give birth, and then give," "give birth, and suddenly the child will be healthy." The main thing is to give birth to a child, and then the grass does not grow. Meanwhile, based on the norms of both international and national law, every woman has the right to independently decide the issue of motherhood. But the authors of the site do not care, therefore they are misleading, stating that "except for her right to this or that choice, there is a human right to life for her child as well." The right to life appears in the child from the moment of his birth. Up to this point, it is part of the woman’s body, and he has no independent rights. But a woman has the right to make decisions on matters of her life and health without pressure and manipulation of strangers.
If there is a feeling that raising children is not your life credo, then the child can be born and immediately be given up for foster care. You can issue a waiver immediately after birth, in this case, the child will not even show a woman in labor. This can be done secretly, without advertising in front of others. In Russia, thousands of families stand in line for the adoption of a child. Let it be the minimum action you will do for him.
If you don’t want to associate life with this woman at all, and don’t even want to take part in raising a child, then you can support it morally now, just as a human being. No matter how you treat this woman, or it was just a passing relationship, but you hardly wanted anything bad for her. So it happened, and life will send for her and the child new options and new relationships.
Yours Consultation.rf
The texts of the site are a good example of manipulation, as if some things were taken from the textbook. For example: "Do not forget about your old age - the more children you have, the more interesting your life in adulthood and old age will be," - is this statement justified by something? Is there any evidence to him?
Another example: “But it often happens that a man experiences such a strong shock when he learns about pregnancy, that he responds by leaving a relationship. And, after a while, he reconciles with this thought, realizes that a woman pregnant with his child is not indifferent to him” . Not really; on the contrary, as a rule, a woman left alone during pregnancy remains alone - and if she gets married, she is not the father of the child. And the statistics say that single mothers are in a very unprotected situation. They are forced to live in worse conditions, as a rule, they are younger, they can not get or finish education. All responsibility falls on the mother of the child.
Another example: “The time of pregnancy is given to a woman in order to reorganize, complete some of her previous affairs, prepare for motherhood. By the way, nature itself helps women to switch to their new role. The changing hormonal background contributes to the gradual transformation of the“ ordinary ”woman into mother Trust the changes that are taking place in you. " As we know, pregnancy is called the "golden time" mainly in glossy magazines. Many women at this time can not fully work - there can be toxicosis, sudden jumps in pressure, increased blood sugar levels, a complication of chronic chronic diseases that did not bother you. In addition, we do not know how the birth will take place, in what state mother and child will be after them.
"On one side of the scale will be the life and health of your child, and on the other - the implementation of the planned, which may be meaningless, quickly forgotten, or even destructive in the future" - this is a classic distortion of prolifera texts. We do not know how this pregnancy will end. Yes, now obstetric aid helps to leave most of the children, but before the end of the pregnancy premature labor, miscarriage, missed abortion may occur. Therefore, until the birth of a child, it is customary to say “fetus”. When we say "child", we manipulate the decision of a woman: we take a certain possibility of life and give it more weight than the already existing life of a woman, devaluing her plans, desires, dreams.
The section on rape is absolutely astounding. He invites a woman to give birth to a child from a criminal, perhaps from a person with mental disabilities or diseases, from a person who has caused her pain, mental and physical. And she is offered to simply forget about all this, as if her state and decision do not matter at all.
As it seems to me, the main message of the author of the text: do not think. Do not think about the bad things. Do not think that you will have a child with disabilities. Do not think who his biological father. Do not think that you are alone. Do not think that you have no support, you are poor or without education. Do not think about your health. About your plans. Trust nature. In the end, if you don’t want to raise a child at all, give birth and give it to someone.
A harsh reality is behind such manipulation: most likely, a woman after giving birth to a child will remain in difficult conditions, without a partner, will not be able to get an education, will slow her career for many years, give birth to a child with disabilities or developmental features, and bring her depression and asthenia closer. And she knows it. But for some reason, the author really wants her not to think about it. One question remains: why?
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