Moscow Bans Adoption of Russian Children By People From Countries With Gender-Affirming Care

Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a bill on Saturday banning the adoption of Russian children by people who live in countries where gender-affirming care is legal, according to a report in the Associated Press.

The adoption ban will apply to at least 15 countries, including many European countries, Australia, and Canada, per the Associated Press. Putin banned U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children in 2012.

In July, the author of the bill, Vyacheslav Volodin, who is also speaker of the country’s lower house of Parliament, put out a statement on Telegram that said that it was “extremely important to eliminate possible dangers in the form of gender reassignment that adopted children may face in these countries.”

This law is the latest in a years-long escalation of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric from the Russian government. In 2023, the Russian Supreme Court upheld a lawsuit from Putin against the “international LGBT movement,” essentially banning LGBTQ+ activism in Russia. In 2022, Putin expanded the country’s ban on LGBTQ+ propaganda to criminalize all depictions of queer people in media and banning “information that can make children want to change their sex.” Russia also banned gender-affirming surgeries in 2023.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/moscow-bans-adoption-russian-children-153045121.html