Russia sees Colorado abuse trial as push for U.S. adoption pact

[Vaughn]

As the adoptive father of two American daughters, and the stepfather of another Russian daughter, I find
articles like this most interesting, having been involved in adoption processes since 1985. Back then, the
hot issue was "open adoption" whereby a child and his/her adoptive parents fought for the right to access
medical records theretofore sealed by the State...versus the traditional "closed" records that supposedly
protected the privacy of those birthparents who relinquished the child.

Nowadays, and so sadly, adoptive child abuse - though relatively rare - has become the hot topic. When
the crime involves two nations, the need for some sort of legislative pact arises - amid criticism that
the issue has been used to distract attention from child abuse in Russia, where some 2,000 children die
at the hands of adults every year.

http://en.rian.ru/crime/20100829/160385411.html

[Shadow]

The issue with abuse of adopted children is the failure of the system.

People who adopt children are supposed to be checked on being suitable for parenthood (unlike those who breed and do not need any  ) and when adopting a child from another country like the FSU there is the general hype of 'giving them a better life' and 'taking them away from their past'.

Because of this the recent cases where adopted children were killed, abused and sent back as 'damaged goods' have led to people in Russia requesting a more thorough check of the parents-to-be. Children who are up for adoption very often already had to endure hardship and/or abuse, and to see them landing in similar or worse conditions is just mind boggling, and brings up the question how these children will be able to grow in to normal people after such experiences.

The negotiations are not to hide what happens locally, but to avoid those who should be given the chance of a better life land in a worse situation...regardless of the country.