The State Duma (the lower house of Russia’s parliament) on July 14 ratified the third and final reading of draft legislation banning medical procedures carried out for the purpose of gender reassignment.
Once parliament’s upper house endorses the bill, it will be referred to President Vladimir Putin for final approval, after which it will become law.
If enacted, the legislation will outlaw all medical procedures, including the use of pharmaceutical drugs, aimed at “changing a person’s sex.”
The proposed ban would not apply to procedures that seek to treat birth defects, congenital anomalies, or genetic diseases.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Orthodox Church Patriarch Krill (R) listen to parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin (C) prior to President Vladimir Putin’s annual state of the nation address in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 1, 2016. (Dmitry Astakhov/Sputnik, Government Press Service Pool photo via AP)
In the event it comes into effect, the law would also prohibit citizens from changing their gender on official documents….