RUSSIA – As part of a series of new anti-LGBTQ laws in Russia, the lower house of parliament, the Russian State Duma, has approved a law banning virtually all medical assistance for transgender people, including gender reassignment surgery . On Friday, lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that would make it illegal for medical professionals to perform sex reassignment surgery on patients except those with inherited physiological abnormalities. In addition, this law prevents civil registries from modifying legal documents on the basis of gender transition medical certificates. For the bill to enter into force, it still needs the green light from the Federation Council and Putin’s signature.
Some of the amendments proposed for third reading include ensuring that people who have undergone a gender transition are no longer eligible to become adoptive parents or guardians, and allowing the annulment of a marriage if one or both partners have undergone gender transition and updated their civil status records. As part of Putin’s crackdown on free speech and human rights amid Ukraine’s war, anti-LGBTQ laws have been tightened in recent months.
These new laws in Russia place even more restrictions on the LGBTQ community and show how the government is cracking down on transgender rights. In an effort to regulate public discourse on topics related to sexual orientations other than heterosexuality, the existing Russian law on “gay propaganda” was strengthened in December 2022,” including gender transformation.
Yulia Alyoshina, Russia’s first openly transgender lawmaker, has expressed serious concerns about the effects of the country’s proposed transgender legislation. Transgender people “will be denied the right to medical care,” which is guaranteed by the Constitution, Alyoshina told CNN if the bill becomes law. “This bill is not only discriminatory, it is a true genocide of transgender people,” she continued.
