KEMEROVO, Russia, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Legislators in Siberia's Kemerovo region passed Russia's first ban on adoptions of local children by foreigners Wednesday, citing abuse of adoptees.
The legislative assembly passed the law unanimously. It requires the governor's signature to go into effect, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Galina Solovyeva, head of the regional parliament's education committee, pointed out children who move abroad face linguistic, cultural and religious barriers that put them "into a corner," the newspaper Kommersant reported. She also noted the risk of abuse of adoptees.
"On U.S. and European social networks, there are groups of users who exchange and sell children adopted from Russia," she said.
Foreigners this year have adopted 77 children from the Kemerovo region, RIA Novosti said, citing local government figures.
