Svetlana Gubaydullina: ‘Abortion will soon become an antisocial phenomenon in Tatarstan’
Over the past six months, 64% of women have changed their minds about terminating a pregnancy. How did they do it?
The share of women in Tatarstan who have decided to refuse an abortion has significantly exceeded the average this year. According to the republic's Minister of Health Marsel Minnullin, in 2024 this figure has already reached 64%, while last year it did not even reach 30%. Deputy Chief Physician for Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Cabinet of Ministers of Kazan Medical University Svetlana Gubaydullina told Realnoe Vremya who helps women change their minds and how State Duma deputies influence this. Read more about it in the newspaper’s article.
“Our most important work is abortion prevention”
“We need to act very carefully. The state is interested in solving the demographic problem if after learning about pregnancy, women make decisions in favour of having the child,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in December 2023 about initiatives to ban abortions in the country.
In Tatarstan in 2024, the Republican Centre for Crisis Pregnancy officially opened to increase the birth rate and help women. At that time, the Ministry of Health stated that “qualified specialists, communicating with a woman in such a life situation, can explain to her that she will not be abandoned, even if she is alone.”
The centre itself began working in test mode back in 2023. A woman who intends to have an abortion is sent there with her consent. The centre's specialists motivate pregnant women to keep the child telling them about existing support measures.
Gubaydullina said that there are many different means of persuading a woman: posters with bright quotes from the child's perspective, communication with patients who have already given birth, the presence of another woman at the discharge.
“And we consult here, in the maternity hospital, because when a woman comes for a consultation, we specifically assign her a time when we are discharging another woman, when everyone is standing around with children and balloons. This psychological technique is very effective. She goes through all this, and she definitely begins to doubt whether she is doing the right thing,” the doctor shared.
“The number of abortions in the republic has decreased by 1,500”
The centre operates on a voluntary basis, providing assistance to residents of Kazan and 12 nearby districts. There are also branches of this clinic in other districts of Tatarstan. The centre receives no more than two patients daily, each of whom is given 2-3 hours of time for an individual consultation.
“Doctors like it, because it is a godly thing. After all, we, doctors, were created not to perform abortions but to deliver babies. And sometimes we are forced to do such things. We have worked for only six months, and the number of abortions in the republic has already decreased by 1,500. Previously, there were about 5,000 procedures. Soon, abortion will become an antisocial phenomenon in Tatarstan,” Svetlana Gubaydullina said.
According to her, it was previously believed that women had abortions because of poverty, but now the situation has changed. Only 20% of patients come for economic reasons. They mainly decide to terminate a pregnancy because of family conflicts, the partner's unwillingness to have a child, relationship difficulties, as well as young age and unpreparedness for motherhood. “Do you know how many people we have married off here already?” Gubaydullina laughed.
She also touched upon issues of state policy in this area. For example, this June, deputies proposed to study the issue of reducing the period during which a woman can terminate a pregnancy at her own discretion, from 12 to 9 weeks. Experts point out that the period of choice up to 12 weeks of pregnancy for women is in effect in most countries of the world.
In addition, in Russia, the issue of the right to life from the moment of conception was raised.
“Another proposal is that from 22 weeks, and some say from the moment of conception, the child is recognised as a citizen of Russia, and the state is in charge of his fate. Therefore, if a woman shows an unfair attitude, then criminal liability will follow. And I feel very good about this. Do you know why? Because sometimes we see that a woman does not register, does not attend a consultation with the phrases ‘But I don’t want to,’ ‘But you don’t have the right to force me,’” gives birth at home is complete darkness and a huge risk. And if the law is passed, then we will invite them to the consultation by subpoena,” noted Gubaydullina.
Bypassing state hospitals: what is happening in private clinics
In November 2023, the Ministry of Health of Tatarstan indicated that they plan to tighten control over abortions in commercial clinics. The ministry reported that women experienced complications after procedures in private clinics, which is why patients were taken to hospitals for special care. The Ministry of Health did not name the number of such cases, but noted that the situation is under control.
A Realnoe Vremya correspondent spoke with several private clinics and found out the average price and the time it takes to provide the service to a woman with a pregnancy of up to 6 weeks.
“We have two main methods of abortion: vacuum and medication. If we talk about the cost, then on average everything will cost 23-25,000 rubles. However, the choice of method depends on various factors, such as your age, the presence of diseases, or whether you have had an abortion before. Based on this data, the doctor decides which method will be more optimal,” they said in one of the medical centres of Kazan.
The administrator of the clinic first said that they are the only ones who carry out this procedure, but then stopped short, saying that “only a small number of organisations continue to work under a license.” You can verify the authenticity of the document directly on the website, the girl assured.
According to information from another clinic, an abortion with medication will cost 14,000 rubles, and the vacuum method — 16,000. When answering a question about the differences between abortions in a city hospital and a private clinic, they called the procedure without queues and with less time to think — “time of silence.” After a visit to a private doctor, the patient will have only 48 hours to prepare for the surgery.