Russian lawmakers passed a law on Thursday banning foreign couples from resorting to surrogacy, saying in particular that they want to “protect” children from LGBT+ families and organ trafficking, AFP and Agerpres reported.

In recent years, the Russian authorities have adopted several measures that have been criticized for targeting the LGBT+ community, such as banning any “propaganda” in favor of “non-traditional” relationships.

“The law has been adopted. Surrogate pregnancy is prohibited for foreigners,” Vyacheslav Volodin, President of the Lower House of the Russian Parliament (Derzhduma), congratulated in Telegram.

“This will prevent the trafficking of our children, protect the little ones from situations where they end up with LGBT couples or become victims of crimes, especially organ trafficking,” he assured.

Amendments to Russia’s Family Code, voted by lawmakers on Thursday in their third, final reading, clarify that surrogate pregnancy is now not possible if one or the aspiring parents who resort to the procedure are not Russian citizens.

The text has yet to be approved by the upper house of parliament and promulgated by President Vladimir Putin, which is usually a formality.

Strengthening of the Kremlin’s conservative direction accompanied by a military offensive in Ukraine

Until now, Russian legislation did not mention the citizenship of parents who can resort to surrogate pregnancy in Russia.

The decision came less than a month after the adoption of amendments that significantly expanded the scope of the law banning “LGBT+ propaganda” amid a strengthening of the Kremlin’s conservative leadership accompanying the military offensive in Ukraine.

For several years, the Kremlin presented itself as a defender of “traditional” values ​​in front of the West, which is called decadent, this policy intensified with the beginning of the Russian operation in Ukraine, which was condemned by Western countries.

The law banning surrogacy for foreigners was also passed less than a week before the first trial in the alleged surrogacy trafficking case began in Moscow.

Four doctors and two surrogate mothers were on trial and face up to 15 years in prison after the death of a child found in a Moscow apartment in 2020.

Meanwhile, thousands of Ukrainian children were taken to Russia

The government in Kyiv says Russia has forcibly deported more than 12,000 Ukrainian children since invading Ukraine, and more than 440 have died during the war and hundreds are missing.

Russia denies the forced deportation, saying that the transfer of people to Russia from Ukraine was aimed at protecting the civilian population from the Ukrainian military.

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