Putin to sign U.S. adoption ban

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MOSCOW, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said he plans to sign a controversial bill that will ban Americans from adopting Russian children.

"I already received this draft law today from the Federation Council. I have not seen any reason why I should not sign it, although I have to consider the final version and think everything over," Putin said at a meeting of the State Council, a presidential advisory body.

Should Putin sign the bill, the ban would go into effect on Jan. 1, halting the adoption of 46 Russian children by American families, RIA Novosti reported.

The ban is partially a response to the U.S. Magnitsky Act, signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama earlier this month, which introduces sanctions against Russian officials suspected of human rights abuses.

Russian lawmakers say the bill also a response to the reported abuse of Russian children by their adoptive parents in the United States. Since 1999, 19 Russian children have died at the hands of their American adoptive parents.