The US State Department says that Russia – with 1,586 adoptions (down from a high of 5,862 in 2004) was the third most popular adoption country in 2009, behind China (3,001) and Ethiopia (2,227).
Ms. Hansen wrote a note to the Russian Ministry of Education in which she said, “This child is mentally unstable. He is violent and has severe psychopathic issues/behaviors. I was lied to and misled by the Russian Orphanage workers and director regarding his mental stability and other issues.”
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the boy’s abrupt return “a monstrous deed” and told ABC News that he had a “special concern” about the recent treatment of Russian children adopted by Americans.
Such words give experts pause.
“Russia and other countries could say, ‘We are not sending children to the US anymore,' ” says Rita Simon, an international adoption expert at American University’s Washington College of Law. “This could be very hurtful to the thousands who will now remain in orphanages and temporary care facilities instead of stable homes.”
Many who have already been through the adoption process with Russia have come forward to give the story context.
“I was amazed that someone could return a human being like they were the latest sales item on Ebay,” says Donna Bergenstock, an economics professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., who adopted a 4-month-old Russian boy in 2004.
