A few months ago, I looked in one of my blogs at Anglo-Russian intercountry adoption developments. This followed the vote in the Commons in this country in favour of marriage equality. In response, Russian officials warned that there might be consequences for British nationals seeking to adopt Russian children.
It turns out that wasn’t just sabre-rattling. True to their word, the Russian parliament adopted a bill on support for orphaned children in its third and final reading in late June 2013. The new law imposes a ban on the adoption of Russian national children by same-sex foreign couples. Head of the parliamentary Committee on Security and Resistance to Corruption, Irina Yarovava, said:
"The decision to prohibit foreign same-sex couples from adopting Russian children is a measure to ensure the children’s safety and constitutional rights.
On 3 July 2013, President Vladimir Putin signed off on the legislation. The Kremlin said in a Statement that:
“the measure is aimed at guaranteeing a harmonious and full upbringing for children in adoptive families.”
For good measure, the new law also forbids adoptions by unmarried individuals who live in countries with laws that permit same-sex unions.
Under the law people can be fined up to a maximum of over €2,000 if the offence is committed via the media. Foreigners who promote homosexuality can be fined, detained for 15 days and deported.
That bill will now go to the Russian Senate before being signed into law by President Vladimir Putin – steps considered to be a formality.
Back to adoption: according to New York ’s Russian Children’s Welfare Society, there are currently more than 700,000 orphans in Russia . This figure is increasing annually at a rate of 113,000 children.
Some of those hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children will be denied a chance to experience a loving family environment, on account of a prejudice about how worthy or otherwise prospective adopters are based upon their sexual equipment. A view which runs contrary to all credible studies on topic, which consistently show the sexual orientation of adoptive or foster parents makes precisely no difference to the quality of the parenting they provide (see, for example, Cambridge University’s Centre for Family Studies’ research from March 2013).
The real tragedy is that, whilst mewling about guaranteeing children a harmonious and full upbringing, the rule which excludes a particular group of individuals as potential adopters achieves just the opposite. It only serves to narrow the pool of potential adopters and to ensure that vulnerable children in need of a stable family placement are denied one.
I admire the valuable information you offer in your articles. I will bookmark your blog and have my children check up here often. I am quite sure they will learn lots of new stuff here than anybody else!
ReplyDeletekids curtains