What will happen to the Russian children who may never find families as a result of the ban imposed on Russia adoptions by U.S. citizens, asks a March 15 story in Time Magazine. The story shares haunting tales of families who were caught in the midst of the Romania adoption ban nearly a decade ago and suggests that the fate of the Russian orphans and the families who pined for them may be the same.
The decision by Russian officials to end adoptions to the U.S. was devastating news for the hundreds of families who were in the middle the adoption process. While Russia has said they will process some of those in-process adoptions, the vast majority of them will go unfinished. Upwards of 1,000 U.S. families and Russian orphans will likely fall into that category.
A similar situation was created when Romania halted international adoptions to the U.S. in 2001. Both the families and the Romanian orphans that were caught up in the Romania adoption ban were devastated by the loss. Like the Russian adoption program and other international adoption programs, families hoping to adopt from Romania were required to make several trips to the country before an adoption could be completed. In both countries, families left in limbo had met the children they'd hoped to adopt, making the losses caused by the adoption ban even more difficult to cope with.
The Time Magazine story features several families who are trying hard to remain in contact with the Romanian children they'd hoped to adopt. For others, those connections were too painful to maintain. It's likely that U.S. families who'd been hoping to adopt from Russia will face similar decisions in the coming months.
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