Russian Parliament Passes Law Banning Medical Help for Transgender People
The Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, has passed a new law that effectively bans almost all medical assistance for transgender people, including gender reassignment surgery. This law is part of a series of anti-LGBTQ measures being implemented in Russia.
The bill, which had its final reading on Friday, prohibits doctors from performing gender reassignment surgeries, with the exception of cases involving congenital physiological anomalies in children. Additionally, the law restricts registry offices from making changes to official documents based on medical certificates of gender change.
Before coming into force, the law must be approved by the Federation Council and signed by President Vladimir Putin. The recent amendment includes disqualifying individuals who have undergone gender changes from becoming adoptive parents or guardians. It also allows for the annulment of marriages if one or both spouses undergo a gender change and update their civil status records.
This law is part of a larger trend of increasing restrictions and control over transgender rights in Russia. In December 2022, Russia expanded its existing “gay propaganda” law to exert control over public discussions and narratives surrounding non-heterosexual relationships and identities. The amendments signed by Putin included heavier penalties for promoting “non-traditional sexual relations and/or preferences” as well as gender transition.
Yulia Alyoshina, Russia’s first transgender politician, warned of the severe consequences of the new law. She stated that transgender individuals would be denied the constitutional right to medical care. Alyoshina described the law as not just discriminatory but a “real genocide of transgender people.”
The timing of these restrictions is seen as closely intertwined with the ongoing dissent against political and human rights activities in Russia. On the eve of the final reading, the Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a transgender activist on suspicion of treason. The activist was accused of supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine by providing financial assistance through a donation to a human rights monitoring group.
The law’s passing is viewed as part of a wider anti-gender discourse and politics in Russia, which has intensified since the country’s full-scale war on Ukraine began. Trans rights campaigners argue that this anti-trans politics is a politics of terror that affects not only trans individuals but everyone living in Russia.