Bad news right out of the gate

Russia suspends adoptions by U.S. families

Clearly, this is going to be harder than I thought. I suspect and hope this moratorium will be temporary - hopefully very temporary. From what I have read on the RR forum this may not affect all regions. I don't know what it means for Constantine or John Mark.

Published: Feb. 12, 2012 at 10:39 AM

MOSCOW, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Russia's foreign ministry announced this weekend it was suspending the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens.

The ministry said in a written statement it was putting a hold on adoptions until new rules specified in a 2011 agreement between the two nations are put into force.

The bilateral agreement signed in July was aimed at preventing the abuse of Russian children at the hands of American parents. The announcement was made following what the ministry considered an unduly light sentence handed down in Pennsylvania to a woman who abused a young Russian girl she had adopted, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency said.

Ministry officials said allegations of mistreatment on the part of Theresa McNulty had been made to police as far back as 2009 and they had concerns that U.S. agencies were not capable of ensuring the safety of their adopted kids.