The Transgender Community is Scared and Counting The Minutes in Russia

(Reuters) 

STORY:  “In Russia, we have a classifier of diseases. And in this classifier transgenderism is a disease."

This is Nef Cellarius - one of the many LGBTQI advocates speaking out...

as Russia gets closer to passing a gender surgery ban.

The proposed law would stop gender-affirming medical care for transgender people -

including hormone treatment and surgery.

Cellarius' rights group is already seeing soaring requests for support sessions.

“There is a research of national research institute of public health in Moscow. And according to this research 72% of transpeople experience depression or attempted suicide. Seventy-two percent of Russian transpeople. This stat is huge. I can predict this law will lead to increasing these numbers.”

In Moscow, Dr. Andrei Istranov has been seeing a surge in patients in anticipation of the bill.

He's a plastic surgeon who treats transgender patients.

He says the ban could force people to seek care elsewhere - leading to a black market for substitute hormones...

Ultimately - further endangering patient health.

“Drugs will be bought because these drugs are used to treat other conditions," he says. "And patients will self-medicate, prescribe and take these drugs for themselves, because this will not go away. “

Advocates say the ban has been over a decade in the making.

The bill, if passed, would also bar people from changing their gender on their IDs -

prohibit trans people from adopting children -

and annul marriages - if a partner changes their gender.

It's the latest in a series of moves by Russian President Vladimir Putin against the LGBTQI community.

Last December he signed a law that effectively banned any expression of their lifestyle.

Earlier legislation has been used for years to stop gay pride marches and detain activists.

"I received a lot of letters with messages like 'I don’t know why to live. I don’t know what to do. I have no money to leave the country' ... Trans people in Russia are scared. And they are desperate.”