The Russian parliament is advancing a bill to ban the adoption of transgender internationals

MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday passed the final reading of a bill to ban the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender reassignment is legal.

The measure, which now goes to the upper house of parliament and to President Vladimir Putin to sign into law, follows a series of measures in recent years that crack down on non-traditional sex.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, who approved the bill, said in a Telegram message that “it is very important to eliminate the possible dangers in the form of gender reassignment that adopted children in these countries may face.”

He listed at least 15 countries in which the law will apply, most of them in Europe, but including Australia, Argentina and Canada. The adoption of Russian children by US citizens was banned in 2012.

Putin and other high-ranking officials in recent years have increasingly advocated for the preservation of so-called “traditional values” as a counterweight to the West’s perceived erosion of liberalism.

Russia last year banned transgender medical procedures and the Supreme Court declared the LGBTQ+ “movement” extremist.

In 2022, Putin signed a law banning the distribution of LGBTQ+ information to people of all ages, extending a ban issued in 2013 on broadcasting material to children.

The parliament is also considering a measure that could make “propaganda” a danger that prevents people from having children.