Russia is facing a demographic crisis, officials say, but women who spoke to AFP said the state's efforts to get them to have more children are cruel

Russia is facing a demographic crisis, officials say, but women who spoke to AFP said the state's efforts to get them to have more children are cruel

 OLGA MALTSEVA

Russian women say the idea of "therapising" them into having children is coercive, cruel and unworkable, and will do little to reverse declining birth rates -- currently at their lowest in 200 years.

The health ministry approved new guidelines in February recommending that health professionals send women who do not want children to a psychotherapist with the aim of "fostering a positive attitude toward motherhood".

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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