Russian MPs have overwhelmingly backed a bill that would ban US
citizens from adopting Russian children. The move is in retaliation
for the Magnitsky Act, passed in the US this month, introducing
sanctions against Russian alleged human rights violators. It follows
several cases in which Russian children have apparently been
mistreated by adoptive US parents. At a much-anticipated news
conference on Thursday, President Vladimir V. Putin skirted the
question of whether he would support a ban on adoptions of Russian
children by American citizens, which was approved by Russian
parliamentarians but requires his signature to become law. The New
York Times published an article on Putin's opinion about this ban.
Mr. Putin said he would have to read the text of the amendment before
making a final decision, and noted that most American adoptive parents
are “honest and decent people.” “This is about the attitude of
American officials in situations involving the violation of children’s
rights,” he said, after a Russian journalist criticized the proposed
ban. “Do you consider this normal? You like this? What are you, a
sadomasochist? There is no need to humiliate the country! We do not
forbid adoption by foreigners in general. There are other countries
besides the United States,” The New York Times quotes Vladimir Putin.
"Mr. Putin did not give a precise timeline for his decision. Experts
on international adoption said uncertainty could prove nearly as
damaging as a ban because it would discourage potential adoptive
parents from considering children in Russia out of fear that they
would invest time, money and emotion only to find their plans blocked
by a policy change," the article concludes.
