Authorities in Russia’s Smolensk Region are planning to severely restrict access to abortions in private clinics, governor Vasily Anokhin announced on Nov. 10. The official insisted the measure was only a “recommendation,” but based on the experience of other regions, such regulations make it virtually impossible for women to terminate a pregnancy absent a clear medical justification. According to The Insider’s estimates, more than 30 Russian regions now enforce either full or partial bans on abortion procedures.

The starting point for restricting abortion rights in many Russian regions has been the adoption of local laws banning the so-called “inducement to artificial termination of pregnancy.” Smolensk adopted such a law in May 2024, defining “inducement” as “taking actions or putting forward demands with the aim of compelling a pregnant woman to artificially terminate her pregnancy by persuasion, proposals, bribery, [or] deception.” Violations typically carry fines of up to 200,000 rubles ($2,500) for organizations, while in the Kirov Region the maximum potential penalty was raised to 1 million ($12,500) this past September.

As of mid-November, such measures are in force in at least 24 regions, along with the city of St. Petersburg and the annexed Crimean Peninsula. The Insider found that similar bills have been introduced in at least six more regions. One was passed in first reading in Yakutia, while another was sent back for revision in the Tyumen Region earlier this year.

Abortions effectively banned or restricted in nearly half of Russia’s regions