THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503190010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A21 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
After vetoing sharp restrictions on adoptions by foreigners, President Boris N. Yeltsin has signed a law that will make more Russian children eligible for such adoptions and allow intermediaries to assist would-be parents.
``Of course, we're ashamed that some children have to be taken from their homeland,'' said Tamara I. Leta, the parliamentary deputy who drafted the law. ``But we want our children to have good homes.''
The law takes nationalist sentiment into account by giving priority to Russians who wish to adopt. But it allows any Russian child to be offered to foreigners if suitable Russian parents are not found by a deadline of up to eight months.
Previously, adoption by foreigners was allowed only when it was deemed to be in the medical interest of an unhealthy child.
The new law would combat the widely reported practice of baby-selling by allowing only licensed, nonprofit agencies to assist in adoptions. Anyone convicted of trafficking in children could go to prison for up to 15 years.
The law vetoed by Yeltsin in December would have made it almost impossible for a foreigner to adopt a Russian child; it would have banned adoption agencies and intermediaries entirely.
The new law requires adopting parents to come to Russia to choose the child and go through certain formalities. But intermediaries can help with other parts of the process, such as gathering documents.
The law, signed by Yeltsin March 7, takes effect immediately, now that it has been officially published. But experts said many questions about its implementation remain.
One potential stumbling block is the law's provision that Russia set up a centralized registry of the estimated 400,000 children eligible for adoption.
Experts, noting that many Russian organizations still keep their records in old-style ledgers rather than on computers, said the transition to a central registry might cause lengthy delays. by CNB