Russian Adoption Ban May Be Enacted Soon
LEMON: American couples trying to adopt children are anxiously waiting as it looks like Vladimir Putin bans all U.S. adoptions. President Putin plans to study the final texts of the adoption ban, but sees no reason why he wouldn't sign it. Hundreds have adoptions pending and Rafael Romo spoke with couple.</s>RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jenny and Aaron Moyer describe Natali (ph) as the sweetest four-year-old boy you could ever meet.</s>AARON MOYER, ADOPTIVE FATHER: He's our son. In our hearts, he's our son.</s>ROMO: Natali (ph) lives in an orphanage in Russia where the Moyers visited him a few months ago with the intention of adopting him.</s>JENNY MOYER, ADOPTIVE MOTHER: We know that there's an orphan crisis, particularly with children with special needs in that area of the world, and that is something that we are open to and the child that we are pursuing, Natali (ph) has Down's syndrome.</s>ROMO: But even though the adoption process is nearly complete, the Moyers who live in Georgia are facing what could be an insurmountable obstacle. The Russian parliament has approved a bill to bar American couples from adopting Russian children. President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will sign it into law.</s>ADAM PERTMAN, DONALDSON ADOPTION INSTITUTE: If what they say is going to happen really happens, those families are not going to be able to adopt the kids even if all the legal processes already have been in place. But much more important, let's focus on the children. What it means is those children will remain institutionalized.</s>RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some see the Russian bill as retaliation for a new America law that places financial restrictions on Russians accused of human rights violations. It also denies them visas for travel to the United States. According to statistics by the United States State Department, the number of adopted by American couples has decreased significantly in the last few years. In 2004, the number was more than 5,800 compared to only 962 last year. Over the last 20 years, Americans have adopted more than 60,000 Russian children, more than any other country.</s>PATRICK VENTRELL, STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESMAN: We remain committed to supporting inter-country adoptions between our two country. The welfare of children is simply too important to be linked to political aspects of our relationship.</s>ROMO: The bottom line, says this expert, it is ultimately the children who will suffer because there aren't enough families in Russia willing to adopt.</s>PERTMAN: There are by some estimates 700,000, 750,000 children in orphanages and institutions in Russia. They don't have that many families stepping up.</s>ROMO: The need is especially great for children with special needs like Natali (ph).</s>JENNY MOYER, ADOPTIVE MOTHER: We rely on our faith and our hope in Jesus Christ and that's what's going to get us through this, but, you know, it would just be devastating for those kids.</s>ROMO: The Moyers already have two biological children, both boys and one adopted American girl. They say their children are just waiting for their brother to come home.</s>ROMO: The Moyers are not just waiting for a court date that would finalize the process and which is expected to happen within a month. And, Don, it is not clear whether the bill as written applies to the couples who are already in the process of adopting a Russian child.</s>LEMON: You know, when someone wants to and a family wants to adopt a child, a couple, I mean, it is heart-wrenching to get right there at the precipice and then not be able to do it. It's terrible.</s>ROMO: And it's like they told me. They already consider Natali (ph) their son. It's just a matter of time.</s>LEMON: Yeah. Thank you, Rafael. Appreciate your reporting. You know, as we come to the end of 2012, what are the hot trends for the new year? We will preview what you can expect in 2013, what you can expect it to bring, looking at everything from food to toys.