All private medical clinics in Crimea ‘voluntarily’ stop providing abortions

All private health clinics in annexed Crimea have informed the Russian-installed Crimean Health Ministry that they have “voluntarily” stopped providing abortions, the agency announced on Thursday.

“The artificial termination of pregnancies will only be carried out in public medical institutions,” it said in a statement.

Konstantin Skorupsky, the head of the ministry, said that the heads of commercial clinics were urged to stop providing abortion services as a way of “doing their part to improve the demographic situation” on the occupied peninsula.

“Our colleagues welcomed the initiative, and as of today, all private clinics in Crimea have officially notified the region’s health ministry of their voluntary refusal to provide pregnancy termination services,” he reported.

The ministry’s press service also said that women who seek abortions at state clinics will be told about the social support measures available to them and sent to “pre-abortion psychological counseling” to help them make “measured and well-considered decisions.”