Russian lawmakers support adoption ban on countries allowing transgender surgeries

Russia’s lower parliament, the State Duma, returned a 397-1 vote supporting legislation barring countries that allow surgeries to change a person’s gender characteristics from adopting Russian children. The statute will protect children and traditional values, said Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin.

The law needs two more successful readings in the lower chamber before moving to the upper chamber of parliament. If the upper chamber passes it, it moves on to President Vladimir Putin for final approval. With landslide approval in the first reading, the statute is expected to pass all legislative hurdles. Russia last year banned citizens from changing their gender identity, either in legal documents or medically through surgery.

What will this mean for U.S. families seeking to adopt? Russia already banned adoptions to the United States in 2012, so the pending ban will have no effect on American adoption agencies.

Dig deeper: Read Jill Nelson’s report on Ukrainian adoptions halting after Russia invaded in 2022 and prompted orphans to flee.