diff --git a/src/cursor/abstract_cursor.ts b/src/cursor/abstract_cursor.ts
index eab9f55ae6..c84e314693 100644
--- a/src/cursor/abstract_cursor.ts
+++ b/src/cursor/abstract_cursor.ts
@@ -223,9 +223,16 @@ export abstract class AbstractCursor<
       this.cursorSession = this.cursorClient.startSession({ owner: this, explicit: false });
     }
 
+    const enableUtf8Validation = options?.enableUtf8Validation;
+    let validation;
+    if (enableUtf8Validation === false) {
+      validation = { utf8: false };
+    } else {
+      validation = { utf8: true };
+    }
     this.deserializationOptions = {
       ...this.cursorOptions,
-      validation: parseUtf8ValidationOption(this.cursorOptions)
+      validation
     };
   }