NZ Herald 3 August 2013
Unmarried Kiwis are no longer able to adopt Russian children because New Zealand has legalised gay marriage, devastating an Auckland woman who was months away from bringing home a baby girl.
The 36-year-old single woman was in the final stages of a three-year adoption process and had already set up and decorated her daughter’s room.
But she received the heartbreaking news that President Vladimir Putin had banned adoption of children by gay couples and single people – even if they are heterosexual – from countries which allow same-sex marriage. It affects 14 countries.
The number of affected potential adoptive parents is likely to be small but is expected to grow once New Zealand’s Marriage Equality Bill takes effect on August 19.
Until now, Russia and India were the only two countries Child, Youth and Family worked with that accepted applicants who were single, with an exception for children who had medical or developmental conditions.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10907481
