Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation on Monday, officially outlawing gender-affirming procedures. The bill, approved unanimously by both houses of parliament, enacts a comprehensive ban on any medical interventions aimed at changing a person’s sex and prohibits changing gender markers in official documents and public records. Exceptions to the ban are limited to medical interventions for congenital anomalies only.
In addition to restricting gender-affirming care, the legislation also nullifies marriages in which one person has undergone gender transition and effectively bars transgender individuals from becoming foster or adoptive parents.
The ban is part of the Kremlin’s ongoing campaign to protect what it perceives as Russia’s “traditional values”. Proponents of the legislation argue that it is necessary to safeguard the country from what they label as “Western anti-family ideology”, while some have characterized gender transitioning as “pure satanism”.
Last week, Italy followed a similar path to reaffirming its traditional family structure by making changes to birth certificates for children born to lesbian couples. In this move, the name of the non-biological mother was removed from the child’s birth certificate.
Despite the criticism from western media, this move is a welcome step. The issue of grooming gangs affecting the well-being and natural growth of children in various countries, including the United States and parts of Europe, is indeed concerning. It is essential to take action to counter harmful influences and ideologies that may forcefully and negatively impact children.