Russian lawmakers introduced a draft bill that would ban gender-affirmation surgery Representative image. , photo credit: Vijay Bate
Russian lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a draft bill that would ban gender-affirmation surgery, the latest step in a Kremlin-orchestrated crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights.
The draft, submitted by 400 members of the State Duma, the lower house of 450 seats, would ban any gender-affirmation surgery except for the treatment of “congenital physical anomalies”. Those special cases will be handled by dedicated medical panels which will be closely monitored by the government.
The proposed law would also ban legal name and gender changes in public records and official documents.
Pyotr Tolstoy, a senior legislator who is among the bill’s authors, said it aimed to “preserve Russia with its cultural and family values and traditions and prevent the infiltration of Western anti-family ideology.”
The proposed bill, which is certain to gain quick approval by the Duma and be rubber-stamped by the upper house before being signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin, reflects an increasingly intolerant Kremlin stance on gender issues. It comes amid intense pressure on free speech and human rights amid Russian military action in Ukraine.
Mr Putin, who has introduced constitutional changes that include, among other things, an amendment defining marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman, has repeatedly derided LGBTQ+ rights. blown up, presenting them as the trappings of a decadent West.
In December, Mr Putin signed a law that bans advertising, media and online resources, books, films and theater productions deemed “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations”. The law broadly expanded a 2013 ban on such “propaganda” aimed at minors, effectively outlawing gay pride marches.
Rights groups have harshly criticized the law as state encouragement of homophobia, intolerance and discrimination.