MOSCOW -- Russia suspended all adoptions to U.S. families on Thursday until the two countries can agree on procedures, the Foreign Ministry said, a week after an American woman sent her 7-year-old adopted son back to Russia on a plane by himself.
The boy's return -- without supervision or explanation aside from a note he carried from his adoptive mother saying he had psychological problems -- has incensed Russia and prompted aggressive media coverage of foreign adoptions.
A U.S. delegation will visit Moscow "in the next few days" to discuss international adoptions and a possible bilateral agreement, ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.
"Russia believes that only such an agreement which will contain effective tools for Russian and U.S. officials to monitor the living conditions of adopted Russian children will ensure that recent tragedies in the United States will not be repeated," Nesterenko said in a televised briefing.
The Tennessee woman who sent back the 7-year-old boy last Thursday claimed she had been misled by his Russian orphanage about his condition.
Russians have been outraged that no charges have been filed against her.
For several years, Russian lawmakers have suggested suspending U.S. adoptions after other cases of abuse and even killings of Russian children adopted in the United States, but no formal measures had been taken until Thursday.
More than 1,800 Russian children were adopted in the United States last year, according to Russia's Health and Education Ministry.
So that is that. Ms. Hanson's act is affecting the entire adoption community, myself included. I am scheduled to leave Wednesday to pick my beautiful daughter Hannah up from Shymkent Kazakhstan, and hopefully the reprehensible acts of one woman will not jeopardize that.
Now. Let it be know that adoptions ARE NOT EASY. Neither, though, are biological children. You can have the best prenatal care in the world and still give birth to a child with a disability. Welcome to Holland, Torry. Nothing in life is promised, and with adoption comes both hope and hurt.
There are issues with attachment, medical reports are wrong, any number of things can and will happen. But whether Ms Hanson's was prepared to deal with those issues or not, that child was hers, and you don't just give up on a child. There are so, so many resources out there. Social workers, support groups, therapists, etc. To be perfectly candid, adoptive parents do just as much, if not more, preparation than biological parents. I have had numerous interviews, background checks, home studies, etc. Here are some interesting stats:
38% of all Russian children adopted are adopted by Russian families. That means 62% go abroad. Of that 62% of those children go to the US. That means that the US adopts roughly as many Russian children than Russians do.
A US-Russian adoption moratorium or even outright ban would not only hurt the US families trying to adopt it would also hurt a large portion of Russian children, who might never get forever families.
And now, for my truth. We are the lucky ones, Hannah and her mommy. My adoption journey, which started over a year ago, is coming to an end. Two weeks from today, if all goes well, Hannah will be home. She will likely never remember a time when she wasn't enveloped in love. Adoption is not for the faint of heart, and it has been a roller coaster, but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel blessed beyond measure. I love being Hannah's mom, and the connection we have to each other is deep and solid and true. She is my greatest joy and I will never, ever, give up on my daughter. This is our story, our truth.
God Gives. God Takes. God’’s name be ever blessed. Job 1:21
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2 comments:
Wow - it's time to leave already! You must be so excited! I hope that your trip isn't delayed by an ash cloud, actually!
I know that you soon should be leaving. Just wanted you to know that I'm sending you best wishes. What an exciting time. Take care, Susan
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