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Duma may ban adoptions by foreign same sex couples

On June 13, State Duma is to hold an expanded session of the Committee for family, women and children affairs, where norms barring these adoptions will be discussed

MOSCOW, June 10 (Itar-Tass) - The State Duma lower house of parliament may already next week pass an amendment to the Russian legislation, imposing a ban on the adoption of Russian children by foreign same sex couples, speaker Sergei Naryshkin said on Monday.

“I think we will manage to pass the amendment to one of the laws on orphans already next week,” he said. The speaker said he had warned the French side during a visit to France that if same-sex marriages were legalized, Russia would take measures to ban adoptions into these families. “Of course, we must take measures to change the Russian legislation, imposing a ban on adoptions of our children into families with same-sex parents,” Naryshkin added.

On June 13, State Duma is expected to hold an expanded session of the Committee for family, women and children affairs, where norms barring these adoptions will be discussed. At the present time, 14 countries of the world allow same-sex marriages. France became the last for the moment on this list after on May 18, French President Francois Holland signed the law legalizing same-sex marriages and allowing these couples to adopt children.

With this in view, Russia that has a treaty on adoptions with France, may consider rescinding it, spokeswoman of the Duma committee for family affairs, Yelena Mizulina from the A Just Russia Party, believes. She marks that France “has not ratified this document as of yet”.

At the end of May, Duma’s vice speaker Sergei Neverov from the United Russia reported about drafted amendments to the Russian Family Code banning adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples in these countries where the legislation allows or recognizes these marriages.

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