Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill banning sex reassignment surgeries into law on Monday. The legislation, aimed at tighter regulation of what MPs described as the “transgender industry,” bans legal sex changes and medical interventions associated with transitioning except due to serious medical grounds.
Administration of drugs and surgeries associated with gender reassignment therapy will now only be permitted in cases that require treatment of reproductive organ deformities in children. Only licensed clinics linked to the Russian Health Ministry can now make decisions on such treatments and issue relevant certificates, the legislation says.
People can also no longer freely change their sex on IDs and other documents. Those who did so may not adopt children under the new law. Married couples can also have their marriages declared invalid if one of the spouses changes their sex.