Russia to refer women who reject having children to psychiatric hospital

Russia will refer women who say they do not want children to psychiatric hospitals under new health guidelines aimed at tackling the country’s demographic crisis.

The directive, issued by the Russian health ministry, forms part of reproductive health checks.

Doctors are now instructed to ask women how many children they plan to have. If a woman answers “zero,” the guidelines recommend sending her for a consultation at a psychiatric hospital “with the goal of forming a positive attitude towards motherhood.”

The move comes amid decades of concern over Russia’s falling birth rate, which President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly flagged as a threat to national survival. The Kremlin warned in 2024 that Russia could face “extinction” without a sustained increase in population.

Russia’s fertility rate currently hovers at a 200-year low of 1.4 children per woman, far below the 2.1 needed for population stability. The situation has worsened in recent years as Moscow sent hundreds of thousands of young men to fight in Ukraine.

In addition to this new measure, Russia has tightened abortion rules and banned so-called “child-free propaganda.” The state also promotes large families through financial incentives and social benefits, celebrating them as patriotic heroes.