Moscow: The lower house of the Russian Parliament (Duma) on Tuesday adopted a bill banning propaganda in the public sphere of the childless lifestyle by choice, AIB learned from TASS. “The dissemination of information aimed at promoting the choice of not wanting children is prohibited on the Internet, in the media, in films and in advertising,” states the text, which must still be validated by the Federation Council (upper house of Parliament) and signed by President Vladimir Putin.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the text is being supported by a group of deputies and senators led by Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Duma, and Valentina Matvienko, speaker of the Federation Council. “The law does not specifically address the decision of a woman who refuses to have children,” but is aimed at those who promote this lifestyle choice in the public sphere.
“It is about protecting citizens, first of all the younger generation, from information disseminated in the media space that negatively affects the f
ormation of personality,” added Vyacheslav Volodin. Russia has adopted conservative laws in recent years to protect its population from foreign ideologies deemed harmful, going so far as to enshrine “faith in God” in its constitution.
Since November 2023, a revised law prohibits ‘the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations’ to all audiences in the media, on the Internet, in books and in films. On the same date, the Russian Ministry of Justice appealed to the Supreme Court to ban the activities of the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Undecided) movement, which it considers to be extremist and undermining the social and religious order.