Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has stated that the authorities are ready to discuss potential legislative changes with the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) aimed at reducing the number of abortions. He emphasized that the Church has focused on this issue for many years, which, according to Kobakhidze, has yielded noticeable results.
“If you look at the statistics, in 2012 there were more than 39,000 abortions performed in Georgia, while last year there were fewer than 12,000. At the same time, the legislation has not changed during this period,” he noted.
Kobakhidze stressed that the decline in the number of abortions cannot be explained solely by the falling birth rate; he linked this trend, in part, to the sermons of the clergy.
The head of government also stated that the sermon of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Shio III, delivered on May 17 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba), was of particular significance.
Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the authorities are open to discussing potential legislative changes with the Patriarch and the clergy if they help to “further improve the situation.”
Patriarch of Georgia speaks on family, abortion, and traditional values
As a reminder, on Family Purity Day on May 17, during an address to the faithful, the new Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia emphasized demographic issues and the role of the family. He stated that abortion is a “grave sin” and that a family in which such an act is committed “will not be able to build happiness.” According to Shio III, happy families are those where children are born regularly.
The head of the GOC also expressed concern over the demographic situation in the country, stating that if Georgia does not focus on strengthening the family and increasing the birth rate, there is a risk that over time, the country will be “settled by other peoples who love children, do not reject them, and preserve their religion.”