The Patriarchal Commission on Family, Maternity and Childhood Protection of the Russian Orthodox Church proposes, in addition to the withdrawal of abortions from private clinics, to reduce the permitted term of termination of pregnancy in Russia from the current 12 to 8 weeks, as has already been done in Germany. This was announced at a meeting of the All-Russian Forum of the World Russian People's Council in Novosibirsk by the chairman of the commission, Priest Fyodor Lukyanov.

"At the first stage, by removing private clinics, we will get a really real picture [of abortions] and a tool for further activities. We will get control over medical abortions and the absence of uncontrolled consumption of drugs for chemical abortions. The second stage is that we are narrowing the corridor in public clinics due to organizational measures such as reducing the permissible duration of abortion. Abortion is allowed for up to 12 weeks in our country, and up to eight weeks in Germany," Lukyanov is quoted as saying by TASS.

According to him, experienced obstetricians and gynecologists note that when the permitted abortion period is reduced to eight weeks, "about 60% of lives saved" are obtained, since "the majority of women come to have an abortion in the ninth week" of pregnancy.
"In Germany, eight weeks were introduced for a reason, but so far we have twelve," the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church stated.

He also believes that the termination of the issuance of licenses for the production of abortions in private clinics and the establishment of state control in this area will lead to a sharp decrease in the number of abortions.