The streets in Moscow looked like this today as 20,000 people lined the streets to protest Russia’s ban on US adoptions. (USA Today article)
I can’t being to tell you how much my heart hurt when I found out about the ban. I wrote about it. I waited with bated breath as talk of an exemption of special needs kids looked to pass, and I prayed for the rest of the children waiting for their parents.
Their parents. Many that I know. Who have done the paperwork, jumped through the hoops, left pictures of their families and a promise to return to waiting children in Russian orphanages.
With those parents, I thank the Russian People who did this today. Who saw this injustice, and spoke out. Thank you.
Lexi Mag 
I hate to say it but it would be also pretty awesome if they would actually do better about taking care of kids born in Russia with special needs so the US adoptions would not be so necessary to save lives. It is a good first step though.
You’re absolutely right. And Russia and organizations that work with the Russians are doing that. It’s slow. Until then, I think it’s good that the people are seeing that America is doing a good thing here. The stigma there needs to change surrounding people with special needs. It’s happening, but it’s slow. I think about what we’re still dealing with as far as stigma goes in the US (like the family that won a lawsuit for a “wrongful life” charge when the doctors didn’t find out that their daughter had Down syndrome before birth), and know there’s a long way to go. It will happen just as long as we can get people to see the value of these lives. This is a positive step.
This made my heart smile. I hope they continue to make the steps in the right direction. So these kids can come home to their families. So future kids can come home to loving families.
I think it’s sad too. What I think is more sad is that these same people will not adopt any of the special needs kids right here in the United States. It seem it is no longer cool to adopt children from ones own country, that children’s lives from what we consider a third world country are more deserving than those from our own. All children everywhere deserve a decent home, I just think we should start at home giving our own kids a home.