Russian adoption ban upsets U.S. Paralympic athletes

When a Russian law that prevents Americans from adopting Russian children went into effect Tuesday, two of the USA's most prominent Paralympians were heartbroken. Now Tatyana McFadden and Jessica Long, who were adopted from Russia, are determined to change the ruling that will deny some Russian orphans a chance for a better life, both said.

"When I first heard that they were considering it I almost didn't believe it," said Long, the U.S. Olympic Committee's Paralympic SportsWoman of the Year who won five gold medals in swimming at the London Paralympics.

"It sounded too ridiculous, especially with everything that adoption has given me -- an education and a loving family and being able to excel in sports. If this law was in place 20 years ago, I never would have been adopted and that's insane to me."

After learning about the Russian restrictions, Long, 20, and McFadden, 23, texted each other, sharing their dismay. The two friends have stayed in touch about the issue and hope to "speak out for those voices who can't," said McFadden, who won three golds in track and field in London .

The bill is widely seen as the Kremlin's retaliation against an American law that calls for sanctions against Russians deemed to be human rights violators. More than 50 Russian children who are currently close to being adopted by American families are expected to be blocked from leaving the country. More than 60,000 Russian youngsters have been adopted in the United States in the past 20 years. There are about 740,000 children without parental care in Russia, according to UNICEF.

Days before Russia president Vladimir Putin signed into law the U.S. adoption ban, McFadden and a cousin, who was also born in Russia, headed to the Russian Embassy in Washington D.C. to deliver an online petition which urged the Kremlin to dismiss the bill.

After waiting outside for more than 30 minutes in the rain, an official finally appeared, grabbed the petition and slammed the gate as a local television crew filmed the incident.

McFadden, from Clarksville, Md., has long fought for causes she believes in. At age 15, with the help of her family, she sued the state of Maryland for equal access to school athletics for people with disabilities.

"She's been a change agent," said her mother, Deborah. "But if you ask her, in an understated way, she'll just say she does what she thinks is right. She just said, 'Let's make a law.' So we wrote it, got a bunch of organizations to support it then she would go up to people and say, 'How would you like it if you had a son or daughter in a wheelchair and nobody would let them play?'"

McFadden's efforts resulted in the Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act, passed in Maryland in 2008. Fifteen states have since enacted similar laws, with legislation in other states pending.

Now McFadden has another cause, one just as personal, after being born with spina bifida and paralyzed from the waist down. "I understand where these kids are coming from, having a disability, living in an orphanage for six years. No one wanted a disabled child besides an American family," McFadden said. "It's definitely heartbreaking, especially for the kids who know who their (adoptive American) families are and may not ever get out of there. They don't have the medical support there or an educational system. It's just a real hard life living in an orphanage."

In 1994, Deborah McFadden, who was working as the commissioner of disabilities for the U.S. Health Department, visited Tatyana's orphanage on a humanitarian aid mission, and immediately felt a connection to the strong-willed little girl. After the adoption was finalized and the family arrived in the U.S., American doctors told McFadden that Tatyana wouldn't live long given her weak physical condition.

McFadden believes that sports saved her life. Her mother introduced her to swimming, gymnastics and wheelchair basketball as a way to get her healthy.

Now, McFadden, whose speed, power and endurance led to a No. 1 ranking in four track events last year, hopes to tackle a new sport. This weekend, McFadden is trying out for the U.S. para cross country ski in Utah. She's only tried the sport once before – last month in Colorado.

Last spring after competing in the London marathon, McFadden flew to Russia to visit her orphanage. She met with children and gave her gold medal from the 2010 New York Marathon to the orphanage's director. "It was a good way to say thank you for keeping me safe for as long as possible and for keeping me alive as long as possible and a chance to show them how strong I am and the things I'm doing in life. It was an amazing experience."

This year, Long hopes to visit Siberia and the orphanage where she spent her first year. During the Paralymics in September, in between winning eight medals, she had the surreal experience of being chased around London by a Russian television crew who wanted to connect her with her birth parents. Months earlier, Long had said in a Russian television interview that she hoped to someday meet her birth parents. The TV crew took the liberty of locating them and wanted to film the reunion.

"She didn't want to have the first meeting on a talk show," said her father, Steve Long, who plans to return with his daughter to the place where he first met her. Born without fibulas, ankles, and heels, Jessica was adopted at 13 months old by the Longs, who also adopted a boy from the same orphanage.

Steve Long recalled the dimly lit room and the broken windows of her orphanage. "They did the best with what they had," he said.

He said his daughter has always wanted to meet her birth parents, but now she has another mission.

"I feel this is God's purpose for me," Jessica Long said. "I want to head to Russia to tell my story and try to change this law."