The Russian parliament is working on a law that would ban what the authorities describe as the harmful promotion of a child-free way of life, with heavy fines for "childlessness propaganda", a close ally of President Vladimir Putin said.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said parliamentarians had started examining legislation to outlaw what he described as propaganda on the internet, in films, in advertising, and in the media that encourages "a conscious refusal to have children".
Putin, who has portrayed Russia as a bastion of "traditional values" locked in an existential struggle with a decadent West, has encouraged women to have at least three children, saying that will help secure the future of Russians.
Birth rates down, mortality up
The issue has taken on greater urgency for the authorities after official data released this month showed that Russia's birth rate had slid to its lowest in a quarter of a century, while mortality rates are up, with no end in sight to Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Volodin accused what authorities have described as the "child-free movement" of devaluing the institution of family with an ideology that state officials worry is putting some women off having children.
"Groups and communities on social networks often show disrespect for motherhood and fatherhood, and aggression towards pregnant women and children, as well as members of large families," Volodin said.
"A friendly and large family is the basis of a strong state."
Volodin said the draft legislation envisaged fines of up to $10,000 for individuals found guilty of "child-free" propaganda, $20,000 fines for state officials, and fines of up to $127,000 for companies.
The legislation is modelled on a, effectively banning any public expression of queer life. Materials advocating people change their gender, a procedure prohibited in Russia, are similarly outlawed.
When asked last Friday about a potential ban on "child-free" ideology, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said it was too early to comment, but that Russia needed initiatives to boost the birth rate.
"Increasing the birth rate is one of the top priorities for the entire government and the entire country," said Peskov, who in July called the problem "catastrophic".
