A bill on banning dissemination of information “that promotes voluntary refusal to have children and childfree ideology” among minors has been introduced to Russia’s State Duma (lower house of the Russian Parliament). The corresponding document was published on the State Duma website.
“Currently, the foreign ideology 'childfree' has become widespread among the Russian youngsters,” the authors say in the explanatory note.
According to the authors of the bill, the popularity of the childfree ideology is related to the fact that “its followers position themselves as supporters of hedonism — a philosophical school of thought that connects a person’s meaning of existence to meeting solely personal needs”. The note states that the supporters of the childfree ideology shape their behaviour on the basis of voluntary refusal to have children. This “goes against the traditional family values and state policy of the Russian Federation”.
“The propaganda of conscious childlessness, conducted by activists of the childfree movement, leads to the degradation of social institutions, washing out traditional values guidelines, and creates conditions for depopulation,” emphasises the note.