Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill banning gender reassignment surgeries.
The law prohibits “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person.”
The law also prohibits transgender individuals from adopting children.
Marriages in which one spouse is transgender are to be annulled under the bill.
LGBT activists believe the law will lead to increased suicide rates.
According to Yan Dvorkin, head of the group Center-T, “The way how these people see their future is collapsing.”
The law to promote traditional values goes into effect immediately.
Reporting from The Moscow Times:
Late last year, Russia passed a law banning the “propaganda” of LGBT relationships and lifestyles toward all ages, effectively outlawing public displays and media portrayals of non-heterosexual identities.
