According to Kobakhidze, the Church has always placed special emphasis on abortion, and this has had concrete results.

Speaking about possible legal changes, the Prime Minister said the government is ready to discuss potential amendments together with the Church, the Patriarch, and clergy if anything can be changed to further support this trend.

“Regarding the Patriarch’s sermon on abortion, this is not his first sermon; for example, last year on May 17 we remember that the then coadjutor Metropolitan Shio also made statements on abortion, which is very important for our society. The Church has always placed special emphasis on abortion, and this has had concrete results.

For example, if we look at statistics - what impact this position of the Church has had - in 2012 there were more than 39,000 abortions in Georgia, and last year the figure was less than 12,000. During this period, the legislation did not change. Birth rates did not decrease by that amount, and there is no direct correlation between birth rates and abortions. Birth rates may have decreased, hypothetically, by 20–30 percent - I don’t know the exact figure - but abortions decreased from 39,000 to 12,000. This is a concrete indicator, and I believe it is the result of the sermons that society hears from clergy. Therefore, the sermon we heard from the Patriarch on May 17 was very important.

As for legislation, we are, of course, ready to discuss possible changes together with the Church, the Patriarch, and clergy. If anything can be changed that would further support this trend, we are ready for that,” Kobakhidze said.

The report also recalls that on May 17, the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia, Shio III, addressed the faithful at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and spoke about demographic issues, abortion, and family life.