MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law banning gender affirmation surgeries in Russia. The law was published on the official portal of legal information on Monday.

The document supplements the law on health protection of Russian nationals with a provision banning medical interventions and the use of medical drugs geared to swap gender. The ban does not apply to medical interventions linked with the treatment of birth abnormalities and maldevelopment in children, as well as genetic and endocrine diseases associated with disorders of sexual differentiation in children. Decisions on such interventions will be made by medical commissions of the Russian health ministry’s organizations.

Under the law, a sex swap by either spouse in a marriage is grounds for divorce. Apart from that, people who change their gender cannot be foster parents or caretakers of children.

According to the explanatory note, the law sets out to defend the constitutional moral and family values of Russian society and protect people’s health, especially children’s.

The law comes into force on the day of its publishing. It will not apply to persons who changed their gender before it came into effect.