Continuing to wait on Russian child adoption ban to be lifted

The United States continues to feel the effect of the adoption ban put into place by the Russian government. Unfortunately, it was too late for one Texas family prepared to adopt a girl with Down syndrome. The young girl ended up dying in an orphanage in Russian.

There are currently around 200 families across the country whose dream of adopting a child was put on hold as a result of misunderstandings between the American and Russian leaders. It is unclear if or when the process of adopting children from Russia will once again continue. What is especially sad regarding current circumstances is that many of the children whose adoption was put on hold were children with special needs.

There is plenty of blame to go around concerning this situation, and decisions concerning whether citizens from one nation can adopt a child from another are often beyond most of our control. The best prospective parents can do is to be ready in case circumstances do change.

Because the international process is so complicated, any Texas parent would benefit from the assistance and advice from an attorney accustomed to dealing in family matters if this type of dispute arises. Hopefully, any decision in such a matter will revolve round what is in the best interest of the child, attorneys can help review and prepare paperwork, participate in negotiations, and make every legal effort to speed the process up.

Potential parents should not give up hope. There will always be opportunities to help out less fortunate children. Perhaps at some point governments will be forced to place the interest of these children before their own political posturing.

The Advertiser-Tribune, “Ohio families, Russian children: International heartbreak,” by Senator Rob Portman, July 2, 2013