A bill banning the adoption of children from Russia to countries that permit gender reassignment has cleared the lower chamber of Russia’s parliament, with the measure now heading to the upper chamber and later to Russian President Vladimir Putin to be signed into law.
Lawmakers in the lower chamber, called the State Duma, passed the measure in its third and final reading on Nov. 12. Legislation must pass three readings in the State Duma—similar to the U.S. House of Representatives—before being sent to the upper chamber, called the Federation Council, and then to the president’s desk for final approval.
The bill was first introduced in July by legislators headed by Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, who stated on the Telegram messaging app on Nov. 11 that foreigners had adopted over 100,000 Russian children over the past 30 years and that the measure aims to shield children from potential dangers.
“Western policies regarding children are harmful,“ Volodin wrote. ”It is critically important to prevent any attempt to alter gender in any way during foreign adoptions.”
Vasily Piskarev, a lawmaker who co-authored the legislation, has alleged that Russian children adopted by parents in Western countries face the risk of being coerced into gender changes or becoming victims of sexual exploitation.
The bill amends Russia’s Family Code by prohibiting the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries that allow gender changes through medical intervention or by altering identity documents to reflect a gender change without medical procedures.
Volodin identified at least 15 countries, primarily in Europe but also Australia and Canada, that would be affected by the law. U.S. citizens have been barred from adopting Russian children since 2012.
When the measure cleared the first reading in the State Duma on Sept. 25, Volodin said the measure was “aimed at protecting childhood and traditional values.”
In addition to legislation restricting adoption to countries that allow gender reassignment, the State Duma on Nov. 12 also approved a measure banning material that encourages people not to have children. The bill would amend six existing laws that already prohibit the promotion of pedophilia, LGBT lifestyles, and gender reassignment.
“This is about safeguarding citizens, especially the younger generation, from information in the media space that negatively impacts personality development,” Volodin wrote in a message on Telegram. “We must do everything possible to ensure that future generations grow up with a focus on traditional family values.”
Last year, Russia adopted a ban on gender reassignment procedures, including sex change surgeries and altering one’s gender in public records. The law not only prohibits gender reassignment-related actions and procedures but also bars transgender individuals from adopting children. It also automatically voids marriages if one partner decides to change their gender markers.
The group claimed that another factor behind the restrictions is that members of the LGBT community often engage in anti-war and anti-Kremlin activism.
