Bucharest, Romania — Under pressure from the United States and other countries, the Romanian government on Thursday allowed 49 orphaned children to be adopted by foreign families.
The international adoptions were granted despite a ban imposed in October at the request of the European Union. The EU, which Romania hopes to join by 2007, criticized rampant corruption and Romania's treatment of the orphans.
At least 3,500 adoption cases were believed to be in the system when the ban was imposed.
However, the demand for Romanian children led to pressure from Western nations – including the United States, Israel and Spain – to allow adoptions to resume.
Secretary of State Colin Powell raised the issue when Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase was in Washington last month because thousands of American families are trying to adopt Romanian children.
David Livianu, who has been lobbying on behalf of many U.S. families, said the nationalities of those adopting the 49 children had not been disclosed. Earlier this week, Nastase allowed 14 Israeli and 22 Spanish adoption cases to be settled.
A Romanian government spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the 49 cases were the most legally advanced. Adoptions can take months in Romania.
International adoptions became possible after the 1989 ouster and execution of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, whose demise revealed some 100,000 children living in squalid state orphanages.
International adoptions cost up to $20,000, diplomats say, and the system is riddled with endemic corruption. Adoptions by American and foreign families living in Romania are at the bottom of the list for international adoption lobbyists.
The government's decision Thursday brings little comfort to the would-be parents of more than 3,000 Romanian children, whose cases already are pending in court.
Elaine Himelfarb, a Californian who runs a Romanian health program, took Maria into her home from a Romanian state orphanage when the little girl was 5 months old. Himelfarb is doing the adoption herself without a lobbyist or the help of an international agency. Her case was one day from completion when it was suspended after the ban.
While she is happy to see some light for other cases, she said Thursday “there is no end in sight” for her and Maria, who turns 2 this month.
Cases like Himelfarb's will be decided by a special government commission, but it was unclear when the commission would meet next.
For Himelfarb and Maria, who likes to play the flute and dance, waiting is torturous. While the two can live as mother and daughter, Himelfarb cannot take the child to meet her family in California.
“My mom is almost 80,” Himelfarb said. “I want my mom to see me as a
mother.”
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
