Russian parliament to adopt gender change surgery ban this month

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) — Russian lawmakers plan to pass a law banning gender reassignment surgery later this month, the head of the country's lower parliament chamber said Saturday.

"Traditional family values are important for each of us ... In July, we will make a decision to ban sex change," State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said on Telegram.

Volodin also marked the Day of Family, Love, and Loyalty, celebrated yearly in Russia on July 8.

The measure, proposed in May with cross-party support in the State Duma, also outlaws government agencies from changing a person's gender in personal documents.

It draws an exception for medical intervention for the treatment of congenital "anomalies" of gender formation in children.

In his message, Volodin pointed to constitutional amendments approved in 2020 that he said served to protect "the institution of marriage as a union of a man and a woman," as well as laws passed last year that banned propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.

"A happy family built on mutual respect and love is a reliable pillar and support for any person. It gives joy, gives strength, helps to move forward, overcoming difficulties," Volodin said.