Objective — to investigate the problem of a woman’s reproductive choice women, by using for an example illegitimate births and abortions in the Kursk and Belgorod Regions during 25 years (1990—2015). Material and methods. Data from statistical yearbooks were used as investigation materials. Trends in illegitimate births and abortions in the Kursk and Belgorod Regions in 1990 and 2015 were analyzed. A remote survey was conducted in 1290 Kursk female residents aged 20 to 34 years. Results. Every four children were born out of wedlock in the Russian Federation in 2005. In 2005 to 2015, the number of illegitimate children gradually declined by 2.6% in the Kursk Region and by 9.5% in the Belgorod Region; but this figure in 2015 remained higher than that in 1990. According to the survey, 45.5% of the respondents oppose abortions; the latter are approved by 38.6%; 15.9% were neutral to abortions. The majority of abortions were in the age group of 20—34 years. In 1995 to 2015, there was a 2.5% increase in the proportion of primigravida women in the total abortion structure. The total number of abortions is gradually reducing; since 2007, the number of births has dominated that of abortions. Conclusion. Out-of-wedlock birth rates were lower in the Belgorod Region than those in the Kursk Region and the average rates in the Russian Federation. In the rural areas everwhere, the percentage of out-of-wedlock children was higher than that in the urban areas. No significant differences were found in the ratio of abortions to the number of births in the Kursk and Belgorod Regions. There was a tendency to use less effective contraceptive methods, which does not allow contraceptives to be a properly regulatory mechanism in a woman’s reproductive choice. The decline in the number of abortions is a major real reserve for improving the demographic situation in the country.