Russian lawmakers pass bill prohibiting gender change

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian lawmakers on Friday passed a bill prohibiting gender change.

The members of Russia's lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma, unanimously voted in favor of approving the bill at a plenary session in Moscow.

The bill now goes for approval to the upper chamber of the parliament, the Federation Council, and then has to be signed by the Russian president to come into force.

The bill prohibits any medical interventions, both surgical operations and the use of medicines, aimed at the formation of physical traits of the other gender in a person.

It also prohibits gender change in state-issued documents – a marriage will be annulled if one of the spouses changes his or her gender.

People who changed their gender will be prohibited from adopting children.

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

The initiative was presented by the State Duma deputies in May, with 400 lawmakers supporting the draft bill.