Russian lawmakers endorse bill banning ‘child-free propaganda’

Upper location of parliament besides approves measure that bans citizens from respective countries that let gender reassignment from adopting Russian children.

Lawmakers successful Russia’s precocious location of parliament person approved authorities that would prohibition “child-free propaganda” and nan take of Russian children by nationals from countries where gender transitions are legal.

Senators successful nan Federation Council unanimously approved nan bills successful a ballot connected Wednesday. The legislation, which was antecedently approved by nan little location of parliament, bans immoderate person, organisation aliases authorities charismatic from promoting a child-free manner aliases encouraging people, some successful personification and online, not to person children.

It imposes financial penalties of up to 5 cardinal roubles (about $50,000) for some businesses and individuals while asserting that foreigners who autumn foul of nan rule whitethorn beryllium deported.

Russian lawmakers besides approved a measurement that purportedly intends to protect adopted Russian children from imaginable “dangers” that they whitethorn beryllium exposed to successful countries that let gender reassignment.

The authorities bans citizens from astatine slightest 15 countries, astir of them successful Europe but besides including Australia, Argentina and Canada, from adopting Russian children. United States citizens were already blacklisted.

Lawmakers are besides considering a prohibition connected “quadrobics”, an obscure fittingness inclination successful which group imitate animal movements.

Upper location speaker Valentina Matviyenko said she was alert of “concerns” astir really nan child-free authorities would beryllium interpreted successful position of individual choices of nan Russian people.

But she stressed nan laws would not infringe connected nan correct of individuals not to person children and said nine needs to beryllium shielded from “new vulnerable phenomena”.

The ballot comes amid intensifying Russian efforts to beforehand what has been described arsenic much traditional-minded family values, particularly aft nan warfare successful Ukraine put Moscow and Western nations astatine loggerheads.

Russia past twelvemonth banned gender-transition aesculapian procedures, and its Supreme Court ruled that nan LGBTQ activity is “extremist”.

In 2022, President Vladimir Putin signed a rule prohibiting nan distribution of LGBTQ accusation to group of each ages, expanding a prohibition issued astir a decade earlier connected disseminating nan worldly to minors.

The bills approved connected Wednesday will beryllium sent to Putin, who is expected to motion them into law.

Source

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Al Jazeera and news agencies