Russia considers denying adoption rights to Belgium due to euthanasia bill

Controversy over Belgium’s child euthanasia law has spread to Russia, where members of Duma, Russia’s parliament, have asked the foreign ministry to examine Belgium’s recently passed law to allow child euthanasia and decide if Belgian citizens should be legally banned from adopting Russian children.

According to a report on Russia Today, the initiative was launched by deputy Roman Khudyakov of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, who says: “Before we continue allowing our children to be adopted by Belgian citizens we should understand on what grounds a child can be killed in this country and if there is a danger for our kids.”

The Belgian child euthanasia law debate even reached the Russian Orthodox Church. Representative Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyanskiy has called the bill “an open challenge to God”.

This ban would not be the first attempt to majorly restrict adoption rights to Belgians. Last week, prime minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree banning the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples or unmarried citizens of countries where same-sex marriage is legal. The law applies to Belgium as it legalized same-sex unions in 2003.

The child euthanasia bill still has to be signed by the Belgian King to come into force. The leaders of Belgium’s Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities have issued a joint declaration wanting the bill to be stopped. They are currently collecting signatures to get it overturned.

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