Due to restrictions against same-sex couples, Italy is the only country in the world that can adopt children from Russia.
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This post originally appeared at ThinkProgress
By Zack Ford
Earlier this year, Russia passed a law banning any country that allows same-sex couples to marry from adopting children from Russia. Some countries have already felt the effects of this law, like Sweden, which Russia halted adoptions to in October. Now, it seems, because of the other restrictions on adoption, there is only one country in the world that is permitted to adopt children from Russia.
According to Pavel Atakhov, Russia’s Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Italy is the only nation that both bans same-sex marriage and has the necessary bilateral adoption agreement with Russia. There were previously agreements with the United States and France, but both have been revoked. The Russian Duma voted last December to ban adoptions to the U.S. because American authorities did not allow Russian diplomats and law enforcers to investigate the mistreatment of Russian adoptees. Atakhov explained, “Such cases of pedophilia, violence, and brutality as we have in America, we have nothing like that anywhere else.” France, like Sweden, was impacted because of its passage of marriage equality.
Russia has a severe problem with abandoned children, with some tens — if not hundreds — of thousands of orphans living in institutions or foster care, rates four times higher than most Western nations. Many have severe disabilities and are condemned to live in those institutions until they die. Still, Russian lawmakers continue to worry more that homosexuality is harmful to children, with another bill proposed that would disqualify gay and lesbian parents from custody of their own biological children. Its sponsor, Alexei Zhuravlev, deputy of the Russian Duma, believes children are better off in an orphanage than with a gay or lesbian parent. That bill is expected to come up for debate in the Duma in February during the Olympic Games.
Despite these limitations to making sure these children can find loving homes in other countries, Astakhov nevertheless asserts, “This is not our fate. We have national adoption as a priority.”
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Photo: AP/Mikhail Metzel
A shameless act of politicizing this issue-at the expense of the powerless-to gain political points by shaming America.When it comes to human rights neither country is in a position to place blame on anyone else.This isn’t leadership.As much as we don’t like to hear criticism of those who are overweight-I do understand why-of our countrys’ ever expanding waistline-if one doesn’t acknowledge there is a problem there can be no solution.We should be ashamed to have so many issues around food in this country.It seems we are either overweight AND unhealthy or underfed AND unhealthy.All the while we throw away tons… Read more »
I am not sure i agree with Russia. But i can hardly blame them. You have the American LBGT protesting the Olympics and Femen cutting down historical religious icons with a chain saw. Dear LGBT could you try any harder to make them hate you?
But in the end I think this is fine. We don’t have a shortage of American’s children without homes. We should take care of our own first.
One more example of heterosexual people being hurt by homophobic policies.
Meanwhile, China doesn’t mind if your country has gay marriage, but they will not allow *overweight* foreigners to adopt Chinese babies.
As Italian, should I proud or…….