MOSCOW (AP) 鈥 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation Monday which marked the final step in outlawing gender-affirming procedures, a crippling blow to Russia鈥檚 already embattled LGBTQ+ community.
The bill, which was approved unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any 鈥渕edical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person,鈥 as well as changing one鈥檚 gender in official documents and public records. The only exception will be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies.
It also annuls marriages in which one person has 鈥渃hanged gender鈥 and bars transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents.
The ban is said to stem from the Kremlin鈥檚 crusade to protect what it views as the country鈥檚 鈥渢raditional values.鈥 against 鈥淲estern anti-family ideology,鈥 with some describing gender transitioning as 鈥減ure satanism.鈥
Russia鈥檚 crackdown on LGBTQ+ people started a decade ago when Putin first proclaimed a focus on 鈥渢raditional family values,鈥 supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 2013, the Kremlin adopted legislation that banned any public endorsement of 鈥渘ontraditional sexual relations鈥 among minors. In 2020, Putin pushed through constitutional reform that outlawed same-sex marriage, and last year signed a law banning 鈥減ropaganda of nontraditional sexual relations鈥 among adults as well.
