The Russian Orthodox Church has consistently supported the war and opposed abortion. Nikolai Platonov, an anti-war priest, takes a different view and opposes the Patriarchate’s rhetoric. We asked him to share his thoughts on the statements being made by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church today and their attacks on women’s autonomy.
Friends, you’ve asked me a very difficult question about abortion and my views on it.
I am not in favour of forcing everyone to conform their beliefs to a single uniform standard, especially when it comes to long-standing institutions. But if you’d like my personal opinion, it is probably similar to the Jewish view. I believe that every living being has the right to life. Does it sadden me that some tiny creature was unable to come to life? Of course it does. It is a tragedy.
But do I consider this to be murder? No—or, to be more precise, not to that extent. After all, the murder of a human being only occurs once that person has become an independent, separate human being – after birth, if you like – and has come into being in this world, outside the womb. Once the umbilical cord has been cut. That is precisely why, in my view, abortion is not murder, but rather the deprivation of a little creature’s chance to come into being. And all the more so when the life of the mother is on one side of the scales—especially if she has other children who depend on her—and the life of the unborn child is on the other; in that case, of course, I personally prioritise the mother’s life above all other considerations, without a doubt.
But I must say that, for me, this issue also has an economic dimension. Take India, for example, a very poor country. There, a child is born and is already considered to be nine months old. He is born — and he is already nine months old. But that doesn’t stop people in India from selling their children into slavery, including sexual slavery, and committing absolutely horrific acts. Children are sold there for their organs. That is why, for me, this is also an economic issue.
My response to the possible ban on abortion in Russia is this: first, put an end to all wars, so that women are not afraid to give birth! Make people’s lives dignified, so that they do not fear tomorrow! Ensure economic and social security for the most vulnerable! Stop the rise in prices that is terrifying people.
Let me say it again: they are afraid of tomorrow, and you want them to have children?! What for? So it can be like in the poorest countries? So that the children suffer? Just leave Moscow and head a hundred kilometres away, or even further afield, deep into the Urals or Siberia — people there are merely surviving, while children are becoming victims of the consequences of Putin’s rule! Because the authorities couldn’t care less about the people or any moral principles. Whether people are having children or not, all they need to do is boost the country’s birth rate so that there are new soldiers for new wars of occupation. That is why they are introducing these new anti-abortion laws! That is what this regime wants. And it is certainly not any kind of ethical or moral principles that are driving them to pass such anti-abortion laws.
And after all, my dears, this is the most brutal form of patriarchal thinking — “a woman’s place is in the womb”. Just listen to what their priests say, and see how the Russian Orthodox Church treats women! It’s appalling. I am categorically opposed to this attitude towards women. It’s nothing short of a throwback to the Middle Ages.
But I would still like to end where I began: does it sadden me that the foetus (that tiny being) did not come to life? Of course it does, it saddens me deeply. I believe that this is a sin, but it is a sin that a person has the right to take upon themselves within the scope of the free will that God has given us.
And no one has the right to take away the freedom that God has given us.
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