The upper house of Russian parliament approves a ban on gender changes

MOSCOW (AP) — The upper house of Russia’s parliament has unanimously approved a bill outlawing gender-affirming procedures and sent the measure to President Vladimir Putin to be signed into law. The move extends the Kremlin’s drive to protect what it views as the country’s traditional values. The bill, which already was approved in the lower house, bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person. The only exception is medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies. It also annuls marriages in which one person has “changed gender” and bars transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents. Russia’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ people started a decade ago when Putin first proclaimed a focus on “traditional family values,” supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.