Adoptive Mother: “I No Longer Wish to Parent This Child”
[Guest post by DRJ]
A Tennessee woman’s decision to return her 7-year-old adopted son to Russia and the unorthodox way she did it could halt all American adoptions of Russian children:
“Russia threatened to suspend all child adoptions by U.S. families Friday after a 7-year-old boy adopted by a woman from Tennessee was sent alone on a one-way flight back to Moscow with a note saying he was violent and had severe psychological problems.
The boy, Artyom Savelyev, was put on a plane by his adopted grandmother, Nancy Hansen of Shelbyville.
“He drew a picture of our house burning down and he’ll tell anybody that he’s going to burn our house down with us in it,” she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “It got to be where you feared for your safety. It was terrible.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the actions by the grandmother “the last straw” in a string of U.S. adoptions gone wrong, including three in which Russian children had died in the U.S.”
The adoptive family claims they were misled about the boy:
“The Kremlin children’s rights office said the boy was carrying a letter from his adoptive mother saying she was returning him due to severe psychological problems.
“This child is mentally unstable. He is violent and has severe psychopathic issues,” the letter said. “I was lied to and misled by the Russian Orphanage workers and director regarding his mental stability and other issues. …
“After giving my best to this child, I am sorry to say that for the safety of my family, friends, and myself, I no longer wish to parent this child.”
The boy was adopted in September from the town of Partizansk in Russia’s Far East.
Nancy Hansen, the grandmother, told The Associated Press that she and the boy flew to Washington and she put the child on the plane with the note from her daughter. She vehemently rejected assertions of child abandonment by Russian authorities, saying he was watched over by a United Airlines stewardess and the family paid a man $200 to pick the boy up at the Moscow airport and take him to the Russian Education and Science Ministry.”
The U.S. State Department expressed concern, not only for the boy but also because it could impact pending and future adoptions. The Russian government indicated it may require a U.S.-Russia treaty governing adoption issues before further adoptions are approved.
— DRJ
Sounds like someone saw The Orphan.
Apogee (49749b) — 4/10/2010 @ 11:59 pmIf the pressure of motherhood was too much for her, she should have just killed him.
Right, nk?
Icy Texan (d77cdb) — 4/11/2010 @ 1:22 amwhy isn’t there a tariff to inhibit foreign adoptions until such time as the number of American born babies have homes?
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 4/11/2010 @ 1:36 amI suspect the lady is right that the child is evil but there should have been a number for her to call once she found that out for so she could rma him.
happyfeet (c8caab) — 4/11/2010 @ 1:41 amWhat a horrible thing for this idiotic family to do. I have friends who are in the process of adopting their 2nd Russian child and this act may scuttle the adoption. The unstable ones here are the ‘adults’ who thought it OK to ship the child back to Russia as if this was an Amazon.com purchase. Pathetic. As for the comment about a ‘tariff’ to make sure people adopt American babies first, why don’t you learn a bit about what it takes to adopt a child before you make such an uneducated comment?
Bob Neale (60bbc6) — 4/11/2010 @ 4:12 amif he’s concerned about American born babies then I’d say his heart’s in the right place jeez grumpy
happyfeet (c8caab) — 4/11/2010 @ 4:20 amEuropeans know that only sick children are adopted out of the country. The fact that it was a boy and seven years old should have rung all kinds of alarms. Russia has been running this scam for decades.
If you want to adopt, get an infant girl from China. Guaranteed, no AIDS, no crack baby. And she will be a baby.
vladimir putin (db4a41) — 4/11/2010 @ 4:50 amComment by Bob Neale — 4/11/2010 @ 4:12 am
I suspect redc14 was being sarcastic, but he is right. If you want the unwanted child of a drug addicted/alcoholic prostitute, there are plenty in foster care and institutions in America. Their skin color might clash with the decor, though.
vladimir putin (who is actually nk) (db4a41) — 4/11/2010 @ 5:07 amSome of you deserve a swift kick in the tucas!
I have adopted and raised a beautiful Korean girl from infancy. It wasn’t always tea and crumpets, but she’s a functioning adult.
Russia,like typical Liberals, give no respect, but continually demand respect. The Russians were wrong in adopting out such a mentally ill kid.
The American family was wrong in just shipping him back. Where was Tennessee’s Child Protective Services??? What kind of sham placement review took place? My review was 11 months as I moved from Nebraska to California after 5 months and had to start over.
Still, I wouldn’t trade it for Obama’s real birth certificate and proof he was a diddle squat student who got passed through schools.
PCD (f19174) — 4/11/2010 @ 5:35 amI have to wonder something, from the Yahoo news and the MSNBC version, I do not see a father in this family. I hear of Mom and grandmother…but no father. That is a problem whether the modern woman would like it or not.
Second, I really have to wonder about the backstory of the mother. It is interesting there is so little information about her, no age, occupation (although I seem to remember her being referred to as a nurse on a TV report).
There is more to this than is in the report.
MunDane (54a83b) — 4/11/2010 @ 6:13 am#8 nk:
And non-black adoptive parents are not welcomed or encouraged by the black community.
Something to keep in mind when considering a child’s welfare.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 4/11/2010 @ 6:25 amThe adoptive mother, Torry Hanson, 33, apparently doesn’t have a husband, there’s no hint of one anywhere in the article.
ropelight (ddd608) — 4/11/2010 @ 6:29 amIf the mother has only had the kid since September isn’t that still within the factory warranty period?
daleyrocks (1feed5) — 4/11/2010 @ 6:33 amREmember that the Russians invented the Potemkin village. There is no way I would adopt such a child without spending some personal time with him first. And the person who mentioned adopting American children has no idea about what he is talking about. There is a cottage industry in the social work community to stop adoption, especially of black children by whites. Don’t you read the “whiteness studies” literature?
Mike K (2cf494) — 4/11/2010 @ 7:46 amReminds me of the way conservatives treated George W. Bush.
barky (cbbfff) — 4/11/2010 @ 7:58 am“Russia threatened to suspend all child adoptions”
snookered (1f2034) — 4/11/2010 @ 8:09 amThis unfortunate incident has all the makings of of a bureaucracy recognizing a story that can be turned into a crises that they can take advantage of. At the end of this, there will be significant new “fees” for Americans trying to adopt a child.
Currently: Costs for russia
“…Your total estimated cost, including travel, should end up being approximately $25,000 to $35,000”
Prediction: The new costs and procedures will prove to be effective at extracting more money. Child welfare, not so much.
This is right out of Law and Order, except that they didn’t pawn the kid off to another unsuspecting couple and the kid didn’t die. The DA had a problem with whom to charge, the guy facilitating the adoption or the couple who initially adopted him. In Angie Harmon’s first episode, she uttered the line which would make her run famous: “No deals for anyone, lets hang them all”.
I miss Abby 🙂
East Coast Chris (ded5f2) — 4/11/2010 @ 8:17 amIcy Texan @#2: Very well played.
Old Coot (48c7be) — 4/11/2010 @ 8:42 amI had a friend who had 5 children adopted from Russia, and was very active in Russian adoptions for others. She told me you have to be very cautious because there is a high incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome in potential Russian adoptions.
I can believe this woman was disappointed in the child she “got”. That is no excuse to handle the situation the way she did. I hope she loses her baby license forever.
MayBee (48e17d) — 4/11/2010 @ 8:49 am“why isn’t there a tariff to inhibit foreign adoptions until such time as the number of American born babies have homes?”
Because that time will never come.
imdw (143bb3) — 4/11/2010 @ 9:25 amThere is an old “walk a mile in their shoes” caveat preached regularly by my grandmother, which warns me not to comment on this story.
I will only say that many of the state agencies I have read about which were created to protect children, and to aid parents of troubled children, (such as DCFS or CPS) are excellent about responding to emergencies, but often sound ill equipped to deal with serious long term issues with children’s mental health.
elissa (cb51a5) — 4/11/2010 @ 9:49 amWell, we’ve turned children into a commercial commodity, why shouldn’t adoptive parents expect a warranty?
SPQR (26be8b) — 4/11/2010 @ 9:52 amIf the Russian Orphanage deliberately concealed the child’s psychopathy I think a treaty is not the worst thing that could happen. Fraud is fraud. Natural parents take a roll of the dice, but in this case the dice were loaded. Misrepresentations were made, to make money. The end.
Protections for both adoptive parents and adopted children are worth delaying other adoption until there are clear rules and protections for all.
SarahW (af7312) — 4/11/2010 @ 10:27 amSince a large portion of modern society (hi, “progressives”!) tends to give more sympathy to Fido and Kitty than to human fetuses, and loves to anthropomorphize animals in general, I’d say the calculated, return-to-sender approach of the woman fits our new-age culture.
The main criticism she deserves, however, is her being a childless, unmarried woman and therefore likely craving a way to satisfy her maternal instincts. A sign of pure selfishness and self-centeredness on her part to have adopted a child who wouldn’t have started off his early years in a two-parent household. That’s even more important when male children are involved.
Beyond that, the “bad seed” reality of some humans should be taken seriously — as a given — particularly by all those liberals who naively believe everyone and anyone in prison can be rehabilitated.
Mark (411533) — 4/11/2010 @ 10:32 amI would say if you are going to adopt a child, it should be a rescue from a severe POS of a country. My wife and I are unlikely ever to have children, and i have said, if we ever adopt, I am going to have a girl from China, because that place treats women so badly it can be properly characterized as a rescue.
A.W. (f97997) — 4/11/2010 @ 10:36 amAt least the child was white.
Come on, you know exactly what I’m talking about!!
TimesDisliker (443bd0) — 4/11/2010 @ 10:43 amThis adoption was all about the mother, not about the child…this woman was just looking for another resume enhancement.
AD - RtR/OS! (1aff5d) — 4/11/2010 @ 12:08 pmThere are five adopted children on my side of the street and it’s a short street.
If people without children knew what they were missing, they would jump out a window. Or adopt. So, yes, in that sense, it is about the parents.
nk (db4a41) — 4/11/2010 @ 12:27 pmThis is a heartbreaking situation. The odds are overhwhelmingly against this little boy ever getting the help that he needs but rather now will endure even further abuse at the hands of orphanage workers not trained to effectively cope with him (“She said the boy was very skinny when they picked him up, and he told them he had been beaten with a broom handle at the orphanage”). He has and will continue to suffer greatly at the hands of inept adults.
With that, it’s stunningly ironic to read that Russian officials’ comment,
“It is a monstrous deed on the part of his adoptive parents, to take the kid and virtually throw him out with the airplane in the opposite direction and to say, ‘I’m sorry I could not cope with it, take everything back’ is not only immoral but also against the law,” Medvedev said.
The cases have prompted outrage in Russia, where foreign adoption failures are reported prominently.
…while conveniently not addressing the immorality, outrage and monstrosity of a country having are more than 740,000 children parental custody.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 4/11/2010 @ 12:39 pmEh.
“having
Dana (1e5ad4) — 4/11/2010 @ 12:41 pmaremore than 740,000 children without parental custody.”You have met people who will not make a deal if they cannot cheat you. Car salesmen, for example. For the Russians, it’s a national trait.
nk (db4a41) — 4/11/2010 @ 12:57 pmI tend to think her actions were motivated by fear.
That’s just occamy I think.
happyfeet (c8caab) — 4/11/2010 @ 1:33 pmComment by nk — 4/11/2010 @ 12:57 pm
With a brush that broad, you must have been one of Tom’s favorite marks?
AD - RtR/OS! (1aff5d) — 4/11/2010 @ 1:38 pmDid not Fidel send us his best and brightest?
Alta Bob (e8af2b) — 4/11/2010 @ 3:37 pmHellish is an appropriate description of this situation.
Perhaps someone who likes adoption and is rich, say Brad and Angelina, will feel prompted to address this. I know I’m being a little tongue in cheek, but I do actually hope someone will step up and do the extraordinary, that is the level of what this child needs.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 4/11/2010 @ 7:15 pmLOL, but nk has a point. I realize not all Russians are cheaters, obviously, but this reeks of the Russians cheating the system. They seem to have a reputation for that. And I do think some of that is cultural. For whatever reason, people expect Russians to behave like Europeans just because they look similar, but culturally, they are deeply different. This is reflected in their tolerance of stupid government, their views of the West, etc.
I think the parents should have known the child before adopting him. It’s really that simple. It’s a shame adoption in the USA has so many hurdles that are completely counterproductive, too. But let Russia cut off the USA’s adoptions. There’s China and many other places that are probably a better bet for all involved.
dustin (b54cdc) — 4/11/2010 @ 8:16 pmThree rules for adoption:
1. You don’t adopt from Eastern Europe;
2. You don’t adopt a boy from Eastern Europe;
3. You don’t adopt a baby older than six months from Eastern Europe.
Because all the good ones are taken. You will get a child nobody wants for very good reasons. Because it’s 1) horribly sick and 2) it is being marketed to you for all the money those gypsies can squeeze from you without any concern for the child or for you.
nk (db4a41) — 4/11/2010 @ 8:44 pmCan anyone confirm reports that this 7 year-old’s upper body was covered in cyrrlic tattoos, and he liked to carry an icepick in his sock?
TimesDisliker (443bd0) — 4/11/2010 @ 10:06 pmComment by dustin — 4/11/2010 @ 8:16 pm
I don’t know if we will be much different in how we interact with others after we undergo 70-years of “socialization” under Marxism.
AD - RtR/OS! (f215c6) — 4/12/2010 @ 12:23 pmAD, that’s a sad thought. You’re right. And it’s already pretty obvious. Britain and California show a lot of people just don’t care or believe that profits for ‘rich’ business owners are a crucial component on society.
More and more, people just think every personal need should be met by the government, and if there isn’t enough money, just tax the infinitely wealthy rich and evil people, or just do some fuzzy math we don’t care about.
We’re at many tens of trillions in unfunded entitlements. And the solution in my eyes is to admit that all that social security people were paying was actually income tax meant to hide overspending… entitles the social security tax payer to absolutely nothing because social security is canceled unless you’re absolutely destitute (in which case you get food and a bunk at the shelter), and people should stop electing liars who dipped into social security.
We got the government we deserved and now we have to pay for it. And the sooner people accept my radical solution, the less it’s going to hurt.
But you’re right, our culture is slowly and surely morphing into one that will ignore anything and demand every personal need be paid for by the ‘rich’.
dustin (b54cdc) — 4/12/2010 @ 12:35 pm[…] here to see the original: Adoptive Mother: “I No Longer Wish to Parent This Child” […]
Adoptive Mother: “I No Longer Wish to Parent This Child” | Liberal Whoppers (d16888) — 4/12/2010 @ 7:33 pm