Russian Adoptions Put on Hold
Some Believe Political Tensions to Blame
But now, overseas adoptions are facing new challenges around the world. Most recently, Russian authorities announced Thursday that they were putting a temporary stop on all foreign adoption agencies. This move essentially brings Russian adoptions to a grinding halt. The only option is for foreign families to forgo the structure of an agency adoption, a much riskier move.
Russia is the third most common source of Foreign adoptions for the United States after Guatemala and China, but there are new challenges facing would-be adoptive parents in those countries as well. Recently China has imposed more restrictive rules on Americans seeking to adopt a Chinese orphan and U.S. officials have issued warnings against Guatemalan adoptions.
A New Cold War?
Some believe the roadblock to Russian adoptions is the result of increasing political tension between Russia and the United States or renewed patriotism among the Russian people, but officials say that isn't so.
According a spokesperson with Russia's Education Ministry, dozens of agency licenses expired on Wednesday and it will take several months to review new applications.
But others aren't convinced.
"It's such a misfortune: children are suffering, children are locked in those hospitals, those baby houses where God knows what is being done to them," Boris Altshuller, head of a Moscow-based nonprofit group, Right of the Child said to the Associated Press. "All they (lawmakers) care about is waging a Cold War with America and their argument is literally that Russian children must live in Russian land."
Allegations of Abuse?
Some believe there may be a more sinister motive behind the delay. There have been claims in the Russian media that many of these children are abused . . . and many of the culprits are American families.
According to the Education Ministry, as many of 11 Russian children were victims of a violent death while in the care of an American family since the early 1990s. But these claims are dismissed by rights groups as propaganda. However, it could be easily argued that the majority of waiting parents truly desire to give these children a home that is far more loving and stable than the institutional existence they had before.
So for now, many may have to put their dream of parenting a Russian orphan on hold. It still remains to be seen if this latest challenge to overseas adoptions will change the climate of adoption in the United States.
If the reason is indeed political, then sadly many children may be lost due to the complexities of government. If the reason is a renewed sense of Russian pride and concern about foreign adoptive parents, one can only hope that the Russian people are up for the challenge.
After all, all that matters is these children find a loving family - no matter the nation.
SOURCES:
Associated Press: http://abcnews.go.com/International/print?id=3035225
Published by Christina Marie
Putting my writing skills to good use for diaper money! Seriously, I'm mom to one amazing little boy and find all sorts of inspiration in him. I've been married for going on 8 years and still love my husb... View profile
- The Cold War is Hot Again We all thought that the Cold War ended when the Soviet Union disolved in 1991. But recent remarks by the Russian President Valdimir Putin has NATO command asking if the Cold War is hot again.
-
The Biggest Money Machine Ever, in World History, is the Government of t...
John Maynard Keynes Said that in the long run we are all dead. In the long run the United States government will own all the property and wealth of it's citizens as the result...
-
Opus Dei in the United States
What is the truth of Opus Dei and what is their role in the United States?
- Female Circumcision in the United States Female circumcision is currently performed in the United States to enhanse sexuals sesation and for cosmetic reasons. In the past extreme forms of female circumcision were practiced in the United States.
-
Why the United States Will Fall to Second-World Status in the Next 50 Ye...
The United States is likely to fall to second-world status in the next 50 years if it can't get its social problems under control and here's why.
- The Diplomacy of International Adoption
- An Overview of the Non Profit Sector in the United States
- An Analysis of the United States Oil Policy and OPEC
- Great Inventions Courtesy of the United States Government
- An Evolving Democracy: The United States
- Adoptive Parents May Make Better Parents Than Biological Parents
- Cold War Space Race: US vs USSR
14 Comments
Post a CommentThat is incorrect information on the weight restriction for China (140/175). See: http://www.adopting.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3488 Actually, their new requirement is based on a BMI of 40 or higher. You may have gotten your information from a very conservative agency, who is projecting their own new rules?? Some agencies have their own requirements, beyond the foreign country's. Back to China, the Waiting Child program is a bit more lenient, and doesn't have a waiting list like the Non-Special-Needs program. I highly recommend the Waiting Child route. What China considers "special needs" is often a non-issue here in the US with our vast health care and therapy resources.
This is pretty sad, especially since the only ones suffering are the children who need homes.
This is sad that couples can not adopt from Russia anymore right now. Very well written article.
fulfill a dream of having a child as well as visit a place that has always been an intriguing mystery to me.
Having been through the process like dreamweaverr, I can state first hand that American adoptions are just as big a pain. maybe not as much paper, but there are issues you don't have like foreign adoptions. First of all, there just aren't many orphanages here in America any more. You have to have an agency secure a woman who is pregnant and willing to release their child to you. This requires being put on a long waiting list behind many other potentail parents looking for the same. The pregnant individual also has to approve of you as a parent for their child. ALSO that person (or the father) has the right to take the child back if they so desire. Even if you have already taken them home. This happened to a personal friend of mine. Russian people are very warm and inviting for the most part. Most of our trip went off without a hitch. A few bumps, but no hitches. Russia is an amazing place to visit with culture thousands of years older than our own. so the trip in itself was a way to fu
Is it really easier to adopt out of the US? I don't understand the foreign adoption craze.
It is sad that adoption can be so difficult when so many children are suffering and so many people want to love them. Interesting article, thanks.
As far as the persistant rumours and horror stories about foreigners adopting from russia, those have run rampant in Russia since they started allowing outsiders to adopt from Russia. While I was at the Moscow Airport holding my precious baby, someone came up to me asking if Americans sold the babies they adopted for body parts, a story that I had heard circulated there before, but I literally had to breath hard to keep from vomiting when I was standing there holding my miracle, my new daughter and have someone ask me that directly. It was truly a test of the diplomatic skills I had learned growing up traveling, in response to that horrifying question, but I did it. Just to let you know, other than that, the people and the trip were amazing, welcoming and gracious to me. I couldn't have asked for a better exposure to the Russian people and culture.
When you are dealing with two different countries in the midst of an adoption, you are dealing with a double dose of red tape. Rules and regulations, revamping of policies and so forth, happen all the time. It did when I was adopting from Russia in 1996/97 too. and you just hve to wade through it. Not only are you dealing with a both the United States and Russia, you are dealing with the state you live in and the area of Russia your child may be coming from. It is stressful and very frustrating and emotional at times, but when you are adopting this way, it feels a lot like being a puppet being danced around by everyone else involved in the adoption. It isn't something you have much choice in, so you plow ahead with prayers and determination, which isn't always easy when you hit these kinds of barriers.
Oh my, this is all horrible news. :(