Specialists of the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM) together with the START video service presented the results of a survey on the attitude of Russians to surrogacy, timed to coincide with the release of the Russian TV series “Container”. According to the Kinopoisk website, the film shows a surrogate mother who moves into the house of her customers and finds herself in a completely alien world of the rich people for whom she is only a “container” in which their future child is.
According to the results of the survey, the level of awareness of Russians about the surrogacy procedure is very high (87 per cent of respondents are more or less aware of it and 20 per cent claimed full awareness of the topic). It is specified that women (92 per cent vs 82 per cent of men) and Russians over 35 years old (87-91 per cent vs 81-84 per cent of younger respondents) are most often informed about the procedure.
According to 78 per cent of Russians, the key reason for applying to surrogate motherhood services is health contraindications, age restrictions (29 per cent), and an unsuccessful experience of conceiving or carrying a child in the past (23 per cent). Less often, the respondents call the reluctance of a woman to interrupt her career (10 per cent), spoil her body shape (7 per cent), or experience discomfort during pregnancy (5 per cent) as the reasons for turning to a surrogate mother.
In addition, the majority of Russians hold the opinion that this procedure is acceptable in a difficult situation when people do not have the opportunity to give birth to children themselves (70 per cent), while 14 per cent consider surrogacy possible in any situation. In addition, the most common point of view among Russians is that surrogacy should be permissible at the level of legislation on any basis, both monetary and gratuitous (42 per cent).
Ru-Main, 16.09.2021
