Russian children escape adoption ban, head for US homes
A protester holds a poster which reads, “Are orphans guilty of Magnitsky’s death? Stop putting shame on yourselves!” outside the lower house of Russia’s parliament on December 21, 2012, ahead of the debate on a bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children.
Some of the 46 adopted Russian children caught in the middle of an international dispute are headed for their new homes in the United States, the embassy in Moscow said today.
Press envoy Joseph Kruzich confirmed the children had left Russia this weekend, but wouldn’t say exactly how many, The Associated Press reported.
“The embassy can confirm that several adoptions have been finalized under Russian law,” he told the AP.
“The embassy in Moscow has processed the applications of these adopting parents in accordance with standard procedures. We will continue processing those cases that are approved by Russian courts.”
The two superpowers have traded political barbs recently, with Russia fast-tracking a law in December that prevented American adoptions.
A court instituted the ban on Jan. 1, leaving children in limbo because they hadn’t left for the US even though their adoptions had been earlier approved.
Russia said it created the the Dima Yakovlev Law because 19 children have died after their adoptions to the US.
The law is named after toddler Dima Yakovlev who died becuase of her “American foster father’s negligence,” the Voice of Russia reported.
However, it also stems from President Obama signing the Magnitsky Act, a human rights bill targeting corrupt Russian officials, CNN said.
Russia has hundreds of thousands of children living in foster homes or without parents.
It had been a popular country for Americans to adopt from, the AP said, after countries such as China and Ethiopia.
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