On Friday, December 28, 2012, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, signed into law a bill brought forth by the Russian Parliament to ban intercountry Adoption between Russia and the United States. This bill was passed not due to the problems of human trafficking associated with intercountry adoption or the horrendous conditions of Russian orphanages across the country. This bill was passed in response to sanctions put in place by the United States on Russia to help promote human rights for the Russian citizens.
According to RIA Novosti, “Some 56 percent of Russians support a proposed ban on US adoptions of Russian children, an opinion poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM)…” Even though over 50% of the Russian population backs the ban on intercountry Adoption between Russia and the United States, many families in the United States, including families who are currently going through the Adoption Russia Process, are devastated to hear this news, including the founder of Mom at Last.
“For the Russian government to be playing politics with the lives of children who are in need of a family, love and hope, is just shameful,” says Sharon Simons, the founder of Mom at Last. “There are many beautiful and warming stories of children being adopted from Russia, including my own, but these stories are never told, giving the Russian Adoption Process a bad name. I am deeply saddened by the turn of events, and I know many other Adoptive Families are as well.”
Sharon, the founder of Mom at Last, and the creator of theAdoptionapp, completed her forever family through the Russian Adoption Process. After a devastating miscarriage and 3 failed IVF attempts, Sharon adopted her 2 Twin Boys, Dylan and Hunter, from an orphanage located in Russia and brought them home to the United States where they currently reside today.
Sharon is currently working on her book titled Mom at Last, which focuses on her journey through infertility, IVF and finally becoming a Mom at Last through the Russian Adoption Process.
