The Right to Abortion in the Context of Modern Democracy: the Paths of Russia and Poland

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of regulation of the right to abortion in the context of modern democratic values. In the course of the study, the norms of international law were analyzed and correlated with the norms of abortion legislation in Poland and Russia, taking into account their common socialist past, the influence of the Christian Church on the reproductive policy, as well as the conservative political course of both states. A retrospective analysis was carried out, revealing the opinions of representatives of various social institutions on the problem of limiting the right to abortion.As a result of the study, the authors have come to the conclusion that prohibition (restriction of the right) of abortion contradicts the concept of democratic values in modern world. The hypothesis is put forward that the conservative policy of the state leads to “biopolitics”, which is expressed in an increased control over the female body and the restriction of democratic rights.