MOSCOW, June 26 (RAPSI) – Russia’s Justice Ministry has drafted a law that would require out-of-hospital births to be registered in court to preclude corruption.

The document has been posted on the government’s site of pending draft legislation. Birth registration in Russia is based on documents provided by the medical facility, or in the case of an out-of-hospital birth, on witness testimony.

The Ministry of Justice says that birth registration based on witness testimony should only be permitted in outlying or scarcely populated areas to be specified by the government. In these cases, a registration request would have to be submitted to the Civil Registry Office in writing.

In cities, birth registrations would be based on records made by public or private medical facilities. New mothers who give birth at home, or otherwise outside a hospital, would have to seek a court verification certifying the birth.

The ministry said the bill was necessary because of increasing attempts to fraudulently use the witness testimony alternative to register non-existent newborns in an attempt to receive government benefits or to conceal the true parentage of a baby.

“The adoption of the proposed draft law would encourage women to seek medical assistance during childbirth and would also prevent corrupt practices,” a ministry representative said.