Torry Hansen has stated that the boy, Artyom Savelyev, was prone to hitting, screaming and spitting at family members as well as threatening to kill them. She claims the behavior started shortly after she adopted him six months ago. Hansen purchased a plane ticket for Artyom to return to Russia alone, with a note stating, “I am sorry to say that for the safety of my family, friends, and myself, … I no longer wish to parent this child. As he is a Russian national, I am returning him to your guardianship.”
The incident has caused international outrage, with the president of Russia calling it a “monstrous deed” as his government decides whether or not to cut off adoptions to American citizens.
Today we asked our panel if they believe Torry Hansen went to far in “returning” her adopted child, or if she had just cause to do so if she felt unsafe with him in her home.
Nikki Lorenzini
My heart just breaks in this situation. It really does. Ever since I heard of this, I tried so hard to see both sides of the story, and each time,I side with the boy, but hear me out. It must be extremely hard to be an adoptive parent, especially to a child who is that age and who is from another country. Yes, it was incredibly selfless of this woman to adopt him, since it seems that in the adoptive world, you can pick and choose who you want, and most of the children that are adopted are healthy babies. However, I have had some questions for this woman: Why did you even want to adopt this child? Was it to make yourself look better or to fill some gaping hole that was in your life? What were you thinking when you decided to adopt a child, especially one who is already 6 and basically had his mind made up about life?
Now, she is saying that the Russians lied to her, saying that she wanted a stable, healthy child, and they gave her him, who was a "monster." Granted, he may have shown no signs of being a "monster" while in Russia. Children can act differently around different adults. They just click differently. Maybe this kid got a weird vibe off of this woman, thinking that she didn't really love him. Now I believe that the Russian government has every right to be furious with her. She sent him back unattended with just a note. Seriously, who does that? This child was in her care for 6 months! I have bunnies that I had for about a month that I grew attached to, so how can this woman not get attached? Okay, silly question. Maybe she didn't have motherly instincts? I don't know.
But my heart really goes out to this kid. I'm not really sure of the circumstances of him being in an orphanage, but whatever the reason, I'm sure its pretty bad for you to be taken from your parents (especially if your parents have passed away). This kid has been waiting to be adopted for 6 years, so he probably has it in his head that he is not wanted, not loved. Then to be sent back by himself on a plane? Oh the disappointment and rejection he must be feeling! Even before he was sent back, the poor kid was probably frightened, and didn't know how to express himself properly. You can't expect a child to act like an adult with their emotions. The kids is probably feeling a lot of things, and he just needs someone to show him some type of love and acceptance. Even if it does mean taking him to a psychiatrist when he was showing signs of violence. Sure, there are other kids that show violence, but this kid was not in a normal circumstance, so I think he just needed some extra grace shown.
David Loftus
Torry Hansen did not have just cause to put a 7-year-old child unattended on an international flight without notifying any official agency in Russia that the boy was en route, no matter how he had misbehaved. In fact, if he was a dangerous as she has claimed (the 33-year-old Shelbyville, Tennessee woman has said he threatened to kill the family and actually had set a small fire in the home), she should have made sure he was chaperoned and proper authorities notified all along the way, or she was not only endangering the boy’s life but those of many others as well.
Ms. Hansen had plenty of other options, far less drastic and expensive. She should at least have contacted the World Association for Children and Parents (WAfCaP), the Seattle-based agency that had arranged her adoption in the first place, but she didn’t. A representative of Miriam’s Promise Adoption Agency in Nashville suggested to CBS News that they or Catholic Charities would readily have helped her out. Both Russians and her Tennessee neighbors have expressed outrage: “They ought to give her some jail time,” one Shelbyville resident was quoted as saying.
This woman set off an international incident between the U.S. and Russia, leading to a temporary suspension of all adoptions from the latter to the former and affected hundreds of other families and prospective adoptees. Russia is the third-largest source of adoptions for Americans: according to the National Council for Adoption, about 2,300 of more than 18,000 adoptions last year came from there. If she received advice on the course of action she took from an “online lawyer,” as she told CNN, then that person should also be identified and investigated for possible malfeasance. The good news is that three Russian families have stepped forward and expressed a willingness to adopt Artyom.
Shaun Hautly
Wow. I'm somewhat shocked that this woman's characteristics weren't bleeps on the pre-screening radar. This woman is lucky that she adopted. A real parent does not have such an easy out. Careless teens, and fathers who's tubes come untied aren't afforded such a handy "get out of parenthood free" card. When a 'mother' adopts, she becomes legal guardian of the child. No matter how dangerous the kid gets, you don't just turn him loose.
There isn't much else to say about this. She definitely went too far. Be like the rest of us and deal with your mistakes.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment