{"id":51070,"date":"2014-06-27T17:50:15","date_gmt":"2014-06-27T21:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=51070"},"modified":"2014-06-27T20:51:57","modified_gmt":"2014-06-28T00:51:57","slug":"the-abortion-ripple-effect-russias-tragic-abortion-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/the-abortion-ripple-effect-russias-tragic-abortion-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"The abortion ripple effect: Russia’s tragic abortion tale"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

As a\u00a0country with a complex tale, Russia has shaken its fist at global powers\u00a0and\u00a0held the Iron Curtain in the face of the spectating\u00a0world but behind government tension, a different stronghold has been long erected in the hearts of its people–one that has bound millions in a notorious cycle of abortion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s deep-seated abortion culture, implemented\u00a0publicly during\u00a0Bolshevik rule, continues to shape the perception of the value and dignity of human life. <\/span>In a country where birth control costs more than an abortion procedure, the practice has not only become the norm– it is the top birth control method in the country. Until recently, Russian women reportedly\u00a0had seven abortions over their lifetime. \u00a0In 2003, BBC reported<\/a> there were\u00a013 abortions\u00a0for every 10 live births;\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Reuters reported in 2009 that there were 73 abortions per 100 births in Russia.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In 2010, a United Nations report <\/a>showed that the abortion rate in Russia was 37.4 abortions per 1000 women aged 15-44 years, the highest of any country represented in data collected by the UN.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat floored me is that most moms brought their brought their kids [to abortion clinics],\u201d said Rachele Flores, a pro-life advocate and founder of Redeemed Lives Ministry International. \u201cThese girls looked anywhere between 10 to 13 years of age. We saw the girls–there was numbness, but there were few that were just broken. I was floored that people just came and went.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flores has traveled to parts of Russia and Europe sharing the message of hope and healing after abortion. The California native, who co-founded Choices<\/a>, a women\u2019s resource center in Pomona, is now on a mission to educate women in Russia and Europe about abortion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t have the power to talk about something when you still have chains wrapped around you–it silences you,\u201d Flores said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2013, Flores and a team from the United States spearheaded a number of pro-life events in St. Petersburg, Russia to educate women on the importance of sexual purity. \u00a0At conferences and small groups, Flores discovered that the women and young girls in attendance\u00a0have had an\u00a0average of four abortions each. The attendees were presented the facts about abortion and the complications caused by the procedure–something they have never\u00a0heard before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe showed them scar tissue, breast cancer, infertility,\u201d Flores told Live Action News. \u201cThey were just weeping, just weeping– they had no idea.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Most Russian women, Flores says, are ashamed to discuss abortion. Even pastors and leaders refuse to address the issue because their own wives have experienced\u00a0abortion.\u00a0<\/span>In Russia, doctors strongly encourage women to get an abortion, especially after a family has their first child.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was really excavating hard ground, really hard ground,\u201d Flores said.\u00a0\u201cAbortion is the norm–it\u2019s strongly encouraged by the doctors. When you have an abortion, it\u2019s very easy to encourage your daughter and your son to have an abortion. It\u2019s a ripple effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"dreamstime_s_30721999\"<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1920, under Bolshevik rule, Russia was the first country to legalize abortion up to birth without restrictions. The method by Lenin\u2019s political faction was a way to destroy the family unit and to free women into the workforce. The Bolsheviks even designed the machine for suction abortions that is still used widely in abortion clinics across America. Joseph Stalin outlawed the practice in 1936, and it remained illegal in the country until after his death in 1953.<\/p>\n

Today in modern Russia, the ghosts of decades past still linger heavily in the hearts and minds of the people. The country is still plagued by a stigma:<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very surprised in the summer–I was there for two weeks– I saw four babies,\u201d Flores said. \u201cI thought to myself, \u2018Why am I not seeing children? Why am I not seeing pregnant women? Why is this not normal?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Amidst concerns over the country\u2019s low birthrate and high abortion rate, Russian lawmakers even suggested banning abortion completely. In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that banned abortion advertising.<\/p>\n

What Russia needs is an open discussion about abortion and sexual purity, Flores says. She contends that women who have had abortions must realize the value of human life and be educated about the physical and emotional consequences of abortion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need this advocacy. They realize they needed to talk about this very openly,\u201d said Flores. \u201cWhen a post-abortive woman goes through the healing and get\u2019s it, it changes everything–they are truly an active voice for life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a\u00a0country with a complex tale, Russia has shaken its fist at global powers\u00a0and\u00a0held the Iron Curtain in the face of the spectating\u00a0world but behind government tension, a different stronghold has been long erected in the hearts of its people–one that has bound millions in a notorious cycle of abortion. Russia\u2019s deep-seated abortion culture, implemented\u00a0publicly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":51073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[19,34,1459],"yoast_head":"\nThe abortion ripple effect: Russia's tragic abortion tale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Live Action News discovers that Russia's deep-seated abortion culture has birthed a country where abortion is the norm.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/the-abortion-ripple-effect-russias-tragic-abortion-tale\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The abortion ripple effect: Russia's tragic 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