U.S. families adopting children from Russia is nothing new, as it is something that has been happening for a very long time. Now there are many families that are upset by the fact they cannot adopt children from Russia after it was decided by the Russian government to not let Americans adopt children from their country.
One family in Minnesota is especially frustrated because they have been trying very hard to adopt the younger brother of their son Jack. John and Renee Thomas had plans to bring the 4-year-old to the U.S. to be with his biological big brother, but now they are stuck in the middle of politics.
Because there are so many others in the same boat as the Thomas family, Senator Amy Klobuchar is promising to take the stories of these families to the Senate floor to see if something can be done. Right now, the adoption deal is to remain in effect until 2014. During that time, no new adoptions can occur. The only individuals who will be allowed to adopt are those that the Russian courts cleared before the ban was put in place.
But even Russian citizens are upset over the ban, as 20,000 individuals marched through Moscow in protest of it. They agree that this is a law that could harm children and it is an opinion that has split Russia in a number of ways. The harm that they fear for children is that kids who would not be adopted in their native country could be adopted by Americans and given better lives. If left in institutions, children are more likely to grow up and be in poverty, commit suicide, or become drug addicts. Kids in orphanages need families and now their odds of finding good families have been reduced.
Right now, there are 46 U.S. families left in limbo and the opinion is that Russia should make good on its promise to let these families have their court dates so they can adopt the children who are waiting to go home with them.