MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. The concerns raised by some experts about how a law banning gender reassignment will be implemented are unwarranted, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The Kommersant newspaper reported earlier that lawyers and doctors who work with transgender people had been critical of the bill banning transitioning ahead of its second reading by the State Duma (the lower house of parliament). According to the paper, they pointed out that "the proposed amendments violate the right to life and medical assistance," and requested that the document be removed from consideration.
"All these requests were expertly considered by the Duma and answers were provided to these questions. That is why in this case, some concerns are perhaps excessive. All the provisions have been made," Peskov noted, commenting on the Kommersant article.
Earlier on Friday, the State Duma passed the third and final reading of a bill banning gender reassignment. The document amends the Law on the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Russian Citizens by adding a clause containing the ban. However, the ban would not extend to medical interventions aimed at treating congenital anomalies and birth defects, as well as genetic and endocrine diseases associated with atypical genitalia in children.