Russia seeks tougher child adoption rules

MOSCOW, July 15 (UPI) -- Russia may toughen rules for adoption of its children by foreigners following the murder of a Russian girl by her adoptive mother in the United States.

Russia's education ministry has proposed requiring foreigners wanting to adopt Russian children to take parenting lessons and undergo tests for emotional stability, Radio Free Europe reported Friday.

The Russian girl's death came just weeks after another similar death in the United States. The killings sparked outrage in Russia, the report said.

In the first case, a Chicago woman was sentenced in April to 12 years in prison for beating her 6-year-old Russian adopted son to death.

Last week, another woman in the United States was charged with the murder of a 2-year-old girl she had adopted in Russia. Autopsy showed the child died after being hit in the stomach.

About 15,000 Russian children are adopted by foreigners every year, half of them by American families. A Russian official said the proposed rule changes may help isolate those unfit to care for children.