Russia to Ban Countries that Allow Gender Reassignment from Adopting Russian Babies

Citizens of countries where transitioning between genders is legal will no longer be permitted to adopt Russian children following a bill that was supported by the nation's upper legislative house.

On Wednesday, Russia's Federation Council, the upper hose of its parliament, approved a bill prohibiting people from nations legally protecting gender transitioning from adopting children from the nation. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to sign the bill into law, reported ABC News.

The 15 countries the bill would definitely ban adoptions from are mostly within Europe, but also Australia, Argentina and Canada. American citizens were banned from adopting Russian children in 2012.

A legislator and co-author of the bill, Vyacheslav Volodin, stated that "it is extremely important to eliminate possible dangers in the form of gender reassignment that adopted children may face in these countries." Volodin is also a speaker for the nation's lower house of Parliament.

Putin has continually disavowed the LGBTQ+ community within his country, constantly stripping away rights and privileges from the identity group. This is demonstrated by the 2022 law banning any material advocating for "nontraditional sexual relations".

"So far we haven't seen attempts to ban gay relations" the way the Soviet Union did, explained Igor Kochetkov, human rights advocate and founder of the Russian LGBT Network to AP News. Instead, the government is attempting to thwart "any independent opinion that doesn't fit with the official state ideology ... and any organized civic activity that the government can't control."

In 2023, a law was enacted which sought to prohibit gender-transitioning procedures and gender-affirming care. Changing a person's gender in official documents and public records was also outlawed.

"They have a certain domain, and they have a mandate in this domain, and they act in accordance with it," said Tatyana Stanovaya, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, in speaking about the Russian aim to maintain the status quo. "Putin knows it and agrees with it. ... It's convenient for him."