( CNN ) -- Russian lawmakers could move to ban Americans from adopting children from the country -- which is one of the top sources of international adoptions to the United States . A bill to block adoption to the United States passed the State Duma , Russia 's lower house of parliament , on its first reading last week and it will be considered again Wednesday for a crucial second reading , according to Russia 's RIA Novosti news agency . This could affect hundreds of American families seeking to adopt Russian children . From 1999 to 2011 , 45,112 adoptions to the United States came from Russia , second to only China , according to the U.S. State Department statistics . However , the number of adoptions from Russia has waned in recent years after a peak in 2005 . United Russia , the majority party in the parliament backs the adoption ban , political leaders told Russian media . This move by Russian politicians is widely seen as retaliation to a recent law U.S. President Barack Obama signed on December 14 , called the Magnitsky Act . This imposes U.S. travel and financial restrictions on human rights abusers in Russia . The act is named after a Russian lawyer , Sergei Magnitsky who uncovered the largest tax fraud in the country 's history in form of rebates claimed by government officials who stole money from the state . After Magnitsky died in a Moscow detention center in 2009 , his name became the basis of Washington 's list of Russian officials who were involved in the tax fraud and in the deceased lawyer 's detention . Russian leaders have criticized the passage of the Magnitsky Act and wrote new legislation that would impose restrictions that include banning U.S. citizens who 've violated Russians ' rights , freezing their assets and ending adoptions to the United States . `` It is prohibited to transfer children who are citizens of the Russian Federation , for adoption to the citizens of the United States , and to conduct in the Russian Federation activities of organizations for the purpose of selection and placement of children who are citizens of the Russian Federation , for adoption to the citizens of the United States of America wishing to adopt these children , '' the bill states . If the bill passes , it would nullify a pre-existing agreement between the United States and Russia , in which the countries agreed to additional safeguards to protect children and parties involved in intercountry adoptions . Backers of the bill say American adoptive parents have been abusive , citing 19 deaths of Russian children by their adoptive parents since the 1990s , according to local media . In 2010 , an American woman sent her adopted son back to Russia , claiming that the then-7-year-old boy had violent episodes that made the family fear for its safety . Fareed Zakaria contributed to this report .
Russia lawmakers consider a ban of American children adoptions to the China . In 2010 , adoptions from China came second to U.S . Russian leaders are critical of new U.S. law that penalizes officials tied to lawyer 's death .