Dima Yakovlev Law

Voting for the law in Russian Parliament

The bill was proposed by United Russia deputy Ekaterina Lakhova. The bill passed the State Duma on 21 December 2012 and the Federation Council on 27 December 2012.

In the Duma, the bill's first reading saw one vote against (Ilya Ponomarev). The second reading received four votes against (Ilya Ponomarev, Dmitry Gudkov, Valery Zubov, Sergei Petrov - all from the A Just Russia faction), while the third and final reading was opposed by eight members (the previous four plus Andrei Ozerov from A Just Russia, Oleg Smolin and Zhores Alferov from the Communist Party of Russia, Boris Reznik from United Russia).

A United States Department of State press release states they "deeply regret Russia's passage of a law ending inter-country adoptions between the United States and Russia". United States Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said the law will "link the fate of orphaned children to unrelated political issues."

Namesake

In the State Duma, the law was informally named after Dima Yakovlev (born Dmitry Yakovlev), a Russian toddler who was adopted by Miles Harrison of Virginia. The child was renamed Chase Harrison while in the United States. In July 2008, less than three months after he arrived in the United States, Dima died while he was strapped into his adoptive father's car. He had been left alone for nine hours in the car after his father forgot to take him to daycare service.

Following trial, Harrison was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter by a Circuit Court judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, in January 2009. The case became national news in Russia, highlighting abuse cases involving Russian children adopted by American parents. Following the child's death, Russian federal prosecutors opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident, while Russian authorities called for restriction or ending of the adoption of Russian children by Americans.

On 28 December 2012, Governor of Pskov Oblast Andrey Turchak suspended two officials pending an investigation into their roles in the adoption of Dima Yakovlev.

Reactions

Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin said that the law will be contested in Russian constitutional courts.

Support

The Russian Orthodox Church supports the law. Church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin says orphans adopted by American citizens "won't get a truly Christian upbringing and that means falling away from the Church and from the path to eternal life, in God's kingdom". According to the independent Moscow Times, the ban is popular among Russians.

Criticism

Western

The U.S. media outlets The Christian Science Monitor, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Time, and a local Houston, Texas, media affiliate criticised the move. The British newspaper The Guardian says it is "not about children's rights" and "ruins lives and leaves both countries looking sordid". After the law was signed on December 28, the day many Christians mark as the Massacre of the Innocents, the law is referred to by The Economist as "Herod's law" and "cannibalistic".

Amnesty International called the law "in no one's best interest" and called for Russian parliamentarians to reject the law. Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia director Hugh Williamson says the law "could deprive them (Russian orphans) of the loving families they desperately need".

Russian

On 14 January 2013, about 20,000 people marched against the law in Moscow. Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar says "Russian orphans should not become hostages of politics."

Aftermath

From 1991 to 2010, over 50,000 Russian orphans were adopted in the United States; however, according to Time magazine, U.S. adoptions of Russian children fell by two-thirds from 2004 to 2009. At the time of the 2012 ban, over one thousand prospective adoptions were in progress. Among these prospective adoptions were about 200 Russian orphans told they were to be adopted. In January 2017, the European Court of Human Rights levied a fine on Russia, ruling that the ban constituted unlawful discrimination against prospective parents based on their nationality.

References

Notes

Sources

References

1. (28 December 2012). ["О мерах воздействия на лиц, причастных к нарушениям основополагающих прав и свобод человека, прав и свобод граждан Российской Федерации"](http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?searchres=&bpas=cd00000&a3=102000505&a3type=1&a3value=&a6=&a6type=1&a6value=&a15=&a15type=1&a15value=&a7type=1&a7from=&a7to=&a7date=28.12.2012&a8=272-%D4%C7&a8type=1&a1=&a0=&a16=&a16type=1&a16value=&a17=&a17type=1&a17value=&a4=&a4type=1&a4value=&a23=&a23type=1&a23value=&textpres=&sort=7&x=50&y=16}} {{Cite web).
2. [http://eng.kremlin.ru/acts/4810 A law on sanctions for individuals violating fundamental human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens has been signed]. {{webarchive. link. (2013-01-02 . Kremlin.ru, 28 December 2012.)
3. Englund, Will. (11 December 2012). "Russians say they'll name their Magnitsky-retaliation law after baby who died in a hot car in Va.". [[The Washington Post]].
4. "Putin signs "anti-Magnitsky law"".
5. . (1 June 2020). [""Закон подлецов" в действии"](https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2020/06/01/85636-zakon-podletsov-v-deystvii). *[[Novaya Gazeta]]*.
6. ((CNN Staff)). (28 December 2012). "Russia's Putin signs anti-U.S. adoption bill". [[CNN]].
7. Vladimir S. Martynov. (24 Jun 2016). "Lies of Nekrasov–Piraya anti-Magnitsky "Documentary"".
8. (21 December 2012). "Russian State Duma Passes Anti-US Adoption Bill". [[RIA Novosti]].
9. Burghardt, David. (26 December 2012). "Russian parliament passes anti-US adoption law". [[The Moscow News]].
10. "Who voted against Dima Yakovlev law". [[Forbes]].
11. Ponomarev, Ilya. "List of votes on Dima Yakovlev law". [[LiveJournal]].
12. Ventrell, Patrick. (28 December 2012). "Statement on Russia's Yakovlev Act". [[United States Department of State]].
13. (28 December 2012). "Putin signs bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children". [[Fox News]].
14. Jackman, Tom. (17 December 2008). "On Stand, Man Tells Of Son's Death in Car". Washingtonpost.com.
15. (5 September 2019). "Hot car death dad says new safety rules not enough".
16. Ellen Barry. (3 January 2009). "Russian Furor Over U.S. Adoptions Follows American's Acquittal in Boy's Death". [[The New York Times]].
17. "Dima Yakovlev law will be contested in Constitutional Court". Interfax.co.uk.
18. Elder, Miriam. (29 December 2012). "Church backs Vladimir Putin's ban on Americans adopting Russian children". [[The Observer]].
19. Mark Nuckols. (2012-12-19). "Putin shows Russian insecurity in signing ban on US adoption of orphans". CSMonitor.com.
20. (2006-10-01). "Russian adoption ban set to devastate US families, orphans". [[Fox News]].
21. Pesta, Abigail. (2012-12-28). "With U.S. Adoption Ban, a Mother Fears for Russia's Abandoned Kids". The Daily Beast.
22. Sifferlin, Alexandra. (28 December 2012). "Russia's Ban on U.S. Adoption Leaves American Families in Anguish". [[Time (magazine).
23. "Houston families devastated by adoption ban". Khou.com.
24. Laurie Penny. (28 December 2012). "Russia's ban on US adoption isn't about children's rights". The Guardian.
25. (2013-01-05). "Herod's law". The Economist.
26. "Russia: 'Dima Yakovlev' Bill in no one's best interests". Amnesty.org.
27. (28 December 2012). "Russia: Reject Adoption Ban Bill". [[Human Rights Watch]].
28. (14 January 2013). "Russians march against adoption ban". 3 News NZ.
29. "Interfax-Religion". Interfax-Religion.
30. (2017). "How Russian Adoptions Became a Controversial Topic". [[Time magazine]].
31. (2012). "Russian lawmaker says Moscow may lift adoption ban". USA TODAY.
32. (2015). "10 Laws Russia Needs To Scrap". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
33. (2017). "Bargaining Chips: Why Russian Orphans Might Become Political Pawns Once Again". [[The Moscow Times]].