# Russia Makes Childless Women See a Psychologist (Should We Adopt This System?)

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Podcast: [Based Camp | Simone & Malcolm Collins](https://stenobird.com/podcast/based-camp-simone-malcolm-collins-6378161)
Published: 2026-04-22T11:59:13+00:00
Episode link: https://basedcamppodcast.substack.com/p/russia-makes-childless-women-see
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/195016731/505f88d25ab83fec29298428bd7644a0.mp3
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Duration seconds: 1966

## Resource

Russia’s Health Ministry just issued new guidelines: during routine reproductive health checks, doctors are now supposed to ask women how many children they want. If a woman says “zero,” the recommendation is to refer her to a medical psychologist to help form “positive attitudes toward childbirth.” In this episode of Based Camp, Simone and Malcolm break down the policy, Russia’s broader pro-natal cultural offensive (including the new ban on childfree propaganda, revived Mother Heroine medals, and “Year of the Family” initiatives), and whether framing voluntary childlessness as a psychological issue worth treating is a smart move or dystopian overreach. They explore: * Why this targets culture rather than just throwing money at the problem * The surprisingly recent history of “aspirational childfree” as a celebrated lifestyle * How societies throughout history viewed women who didn’t want children * Whether therapists could actually help shift mindsets (or if the real power is in the framing) * Bold ideas like no income tax for parents, school choice, and normalizing motherhood again Provocative, data-rich, and unapologetically pro-family. If you’re tired of the “childfree is empowerment” narrative and want to talk seriously about reversing fertility collapse, this one’s for you. Episode Transcript Simone Collins: [00:00:00] Hello Malcolm. I’m excited to be speaking with you today because Russia has introduced a new health ministry guideline saying that women who say they don’t want children should be referred for psychological counseling. And, and Russian officials present this as a prenatal measure to address, you know, their, Malcolm Collins: and I was like, I heard it and it generally was multi totalitarian things. I don’t like this much. This when I’m like. My gut…

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