July 24 () –
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has ratified this Monday the entry into force of a new legislation by virtue of which sex reassignment surgeries are prohibited, a new setback for the LGTBI community in the Eurasian country.
This measure, which is not retroactive, already received the ‘green light’ in the Federation Council (Upper House) in the middle of last week, and less than a week earlier it had also been approved by the State Duma (Lower House).
The project, which is entitled ‘On the fundamentals of the protection of the health of citizens in the Russian Federation’, was presented at the end of May by a group of almost 400 deputies from different formations.
The document includes an article that prohibits the change of sex of a person, with the exception of surgical interventions aimed at treating congenital anomalies in children, which could be approved after the approval by a medical commission.
Likewise, it prevents a citizen from changing their name in the Civil Registry based on a medical certificate of sex reassignment issued by a doctor. On the other hand, it prevents adoption for people who have undergone an operation of this type.
As stated in the documents signed by Putin, the measure is aimed at protecting the main moral and family foundations of society in accordance with constitutional principles, as well as preserving the health of Russian citizens.
