The Legal Status of a Pregnant Woman: An Intersectoral Aspect

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the analysis of family and demographic policy in the context of determining the legal status of a pregnant woman under the Russian legislation, as well as the impact of a set of social support measures on the attractiveness of having many children in family planning. The author states that the absence of an established form of a woman’s pregnancy certificate is a huge disadvantage, since the issuance of a document is a legal fact with which the law connects the emergence, modification and termination of legal relations, the basis when a woman acquires a special social and legal status of a subject with a privileged position, reflected in various branches of Russian legislation. The paper analyzes judicial practice regarding the filing of claims by men for compensation for moral damage in connection with the termination of pregnancy by women without reaching a general agreement on the issue of family planning. In the transport sector, there is no uniform practice of providing transportation services to pregnant women by airlines. Regarding the legislation on sports, the author draws attention to the fact that the hormone released in the pregnant woman’s body is deemed doping. However, restrictions on access to competitions are discrimination, so it is not uncommon for a pregnant woman to receive an Olympic gold medal being heavily pregnant. The state of pregnancy is also of legal importance for criminal legislation, since a significant number of criminal law norms take into account the special status of a pregnant woman as a characteristic of the defendant’s personality, as well as as a circumstance that gives great public danger when the victim is the expectant mother. The granting of a special privileged status to a pregnant woman is also subject to consideration in housing legislation: the expectant mother should have the right to additional state support, including in terms of meeting housing needs. The author summarizes that for the Russian legislator, a pregnant woman is unconditionally a value whose rights and interests are protected as much as possible. The principle of state support for motherhood is reflected in the entire system of Russian legislation.