Russia's State Duma has passed a law that includes assisted reproductive technologies in the free medical care program for widows of combat veterans and wives of disabled war veterans, according to Mediazona. The document was published on the legislative activity support system's website.
The IVF procedure will be free, but the collection and cryopreservation of biological material will remain paid services that the couple must cover themselves. The husband must provide a notarized consent to the use of his biological material after death, The Insider reported.
The right to free IVF will be granted to spouses of deceased or deceased veterans and disabled combat veterans who have not remarried. The service can be used within five years of the husband's death. The law does not apply to surrogacy, The Moscow Times clarified.
Deputies unanimously adopted amendments to the law 'On Veterans,' TASS reported. The bill's authors explained its necessity by noting that many women lose the opportunity to have children from spouses who died during combat operations and did not have time to become fathers.
The law will take effect on December 1, 2026. The specific procedure for providing the service will be established by Russia's Ministry of Health. Currently, IVF under the compulsory medical insurance (OMS) program is available only to married couples where one or both spouses have been diagnosed with infertility, as well as to single women with the same diagnosis.
Earlier, authorities allowed spouses of deceased participants in the war against Ukraine to enroll in budget-funded places at Russian universities without exams, provided they do not remarry after the spouse's death.