The key facts
- A petition for a complete ban on abortion at a woman's request has been posted on the website of Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers
- Current law allows abortion on request during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy
- In the first half of 2026, 73,292 births and 259,853 deaths were recorded in Ukraine
The essence of the initiative
A petition has appeared on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine proposing a complete ban on terminating a pregnancy at a woman's request, regardless of the term. As reported by the Ukrainian outlet TSN, the author of the appeal, Denys Brinza, asks the government to prepare a bill that would abolish this possibility. Under current Ukrainian legislation, abortion on request is allowed during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Proposed exceptions and restrictions
The initiator proposes to keep the possibility of abortion in cases of a threat to a woman's life or health, as well as in cases of certain severe fetal pathologies, but at the same time to tighten the criteria for medical exceptions. For women who became pregnant as a result of rape, the author of the petition proposes to reduce the maximum term for performing an abortion from 22 to 12 weeks and to establish a mandatory ten-day period for making a final decision. In addition, the appeal contains a proposal to strengthen liability for illegal abortions and coercion to terminate a pregnancy, as well as to expand state financial, medical, and psychological assistance to pregnant women in difficult life situations.
Demographic context
The petition appeared against the backdrop of a serious demographic crisis. According to the Ukrainian service Opendatabot, in the first half of 2026, 73,292 births and 259,853 deaths were registered in the country — the number of deaths exceeded the number of newborns by more than 3.5 times. Life.ru previously reported on a record decline in the birth rate: according to estimates by Ukrainian demographers, over six months the number of newborns fell by 17% compared with the same period last year. Experts attribute the worsening situation, among other things, to the ongoing conflict and the mass departure of the population abroad.
What remains unknown
The posting of the petition on the government website does not mean a decision has been made: it is an appeal to which the Cabinet of Ministers still has to respond in accordance with the established procedure. The publications do not report the authorities' position or any plans to change the legislation.
