On May 30, 2023, a draft of federal law “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Acts of Civil Status” and the Federal Law “On the Basics of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation” No. 369814-8 was introduced to Russian Duma. The draft law prohibits medical interventions for gender reassignment, except for interventions on intersex children, and also removes the ability for all people to make changes to the civil status record when submitting a “sex reassignment” document.

Many intersex people in Russia are registered at birth in a male or female biological field and live their lives in accordance with this record. However, some of us choose to undergo medical interventions to change sex characteristics, as well as change the legal gender marker in our documents. Since Draft Law No. 369814-8 restricts us in these rights, we would like to outline the problems of this bill.

❗️Incorrect Terminology.

The bill uses the phrases “congenital physiological anomalies of sexual development” and “sex change”. The term “physiological anomaly” is incorrect. Variations of sex characteristics include not only physiological but also anatomical, genetic, hormonal and other features of sex characteristics. Moreover, the word “anomaly” presents our differences as a problem. More correct terms may be the phrases “people with congenital variations in sex development” or “people with congenital variations in sex characteristics.” In addition, only individual sex characteristics can be changed, and not the biological sex as a whole.

Exception for Medical Interventions on Intersex Children.

An exception in the law on “harmful” (from the State point of view) practices for medical interventions on the sex characteristics of intersex children supports the perception of such interventions as beneficial and approved by the state. In practice, intersex children are often exposed to them without medical necessity and without personal, free, fully informed consent. On the other hand, presenting only the needs of intersex people as acceptable and biologically based devalues the idea of bodily autonomy—each person has the right to access the medical interventions of their choice. This exception is introduced not to protect children, but to protect doctors from liability for violating the alleged sexual homogeneity of society by harmful medical interventions on intersex children.

Prohibition of Medical Interventions for Intersex Adults.

The bill’s exception for intersex children would deny access to the desired medical interventions for intersex adults. However, many intersex people become aware of their variation and choose to seek help only as adults. For example, the variation has not been shown before, doctors and parents have hidden the variation from intersex, or there have been delays or errors in diagnosis. The child and family may not be ready or able to carry out the intervention. Age-limited access to care will lead to mental health problems for intersex adults and increase pressure on parents to make harmful medical decisions for their child.

Prohibition of Changing the Content of a Civil Status Record.

The bill if adopted will prevent intersex adults from having up-to-date documents, lead to discriminatory law enforcement, compromise medical data protections, harm the psychological health of citizens, increase the risk of violence, violate Russian humane legal tradition, and increase the burden on the judiciary. This ban violates human rights, including the recognition of gender identity as part of the right to respect of private life.