Russia moves closer to passes banning gender change

Russia's lower house of the parliament or State Duma has voted in favour of passing a new law that would ban nearly all medical procedures that may assist in changing a person's gender.

The bill was approved on Friday in its third and final reading. The bill bans medical workers from "performing medical interventions designed to change the sex of a person", including prescribing hormone therapy to patients, according to sources .

The only exception to this would be to treat congenital physiological anomalies in children.

The law would also disqualify those who have undergone gender changes from becoming adoptive parents or guardians.

It also strikes down the chance of annulling a marriage if one or both spouses undergo a gender change.

Putin, in recent months, has toughened the stance against the LGBTQ community.