Elton John's heart was 'stolen' by 14-month old Lev in the Ukraine. Although he said that he had made a decision against adoption because of his age (62) and his lifestyle (i.e. the amount of travelling he does) he now wants to adopt little Lev after visiting an orphanage where the parents of some of the children had died of HIV/AIDS.According to a report on the BBC website:
Sir Elton said he and partner David Furnish, 46, were asked whether they thought of adopting.According to the Press Association, John's plan has given EveryChild, and international children's charity, cause for concern.
He said: "David and I have always talked about adoption, David always wanted to adopt a child and I always said 'no' because I am 62 and I think because of the travelling I do and the life I have, maybe it wouldn't be fair for the child.
"But having seen Lev today, I would love to adopt him. I don't know how we do that but he has stolen my heart. And he has stolen David's heart and it would be wonderful if we can have a home. I've changed my mind today."
The singer added that the death of his long-term keyboardist, Guy Babylon, had also influenced his decision.
"Last week I lost one of my best friends; my keyboard player died of a heart attack at 52.
"It broke my heart because he was such a genius and so young and has two wonderful children.
"What better opportunity to replace someone I lost than to replace him with someone I can give a future to."
The organisation said that while it praised John's help in raising awareness of the plight of children affected by HIV in Ukraine, it said the answer to the country's deepening HIV and Aids crisis does not lie in international adoption, arguing that more children may be abandoned in children's homes as a result of another high-profile, celebrity adoption.There are of course lots of reasons for concern about this. One is Elton John's reasoning: to replace a friend he has lost with a 14-month old child; his age; his (travelling) lifestyle; the issue of celebrity-adoptions; not to mention the fact of the same-sex nature of his partnership which is an unnatural environment for a child to grow up in.
EveryChild argues that 95% of the children in Ukraine's institutions are not orphans and children born to HIV-positive mothers face particular discrimination. They are separated from their mothers and often end up in children's homes and institutions segregated from children not affected by HIV, it said.
Anna Feuchtwang, chief executive of EveryChild, said: "High-profile adoption stories involving celebrities send out the wrong message.
"Research conducted in Ukraine by Liverpool University found that vulnerable mothers were encouraged by news of wealthy foreigners adopting from children's homes to place their own children in care in the hope that they would get a better life. Most children placed in children's homes are not adopted internationally; the majority face a bleak future.
"Children who grow up in a children's home are much more likely to end up in prison, involved with drugs and prostitution and go on to abandon their own children. The actions of celebrities like Madonna, and now possibly Elton John, could be actually increasing the number of children in children's homes in countries like Ukraine."
Elton John is a very wealthy man. If he were to calculate the cost to him during his lifetime of adopting little Lev, and then think about what kind of legacy he might leave his adopted son, could he then consider donating all that money to parents who find themselves unable to keep their children because of poverty, sickness or other reasons? If he put all that money in a Trust fund for Lev's father and/or mother or Ukrainian foster parents to administer on behalf of Lev, would that not be a wonderful act of philanthropy and help alleviate a real problem in the Ukraine while ensuring that children grow up in their own proper nation with its particular cultural heritage and even in their own religion?
PRaise be. The Ukraine is not going to allow Elton John and his "partner" to adopt.
ReplyDeleteThey said they did not recognize non-traditional marriages, plus they considered him too old.
At least sanity has reigned in one case.
Meanwhile, on a sad note, I was not pleased to see news reports that Lord Frederick Windsor and his new wife "are not planning to have children for years." The bride is a 29 year old actress he is an investment banker. Why anyone would marry and simply want to "play house" I have no idea. And there is NO excuse about "not enough money" - or even that she wants a career first. If any one would have money for a nanny to be on a screen set it would be them!
Meanwhile, there are couples all over who want to conceive a child and can't.
And there are couples who concieve and find it "inconvenient" and abort.
Also, according to BBC radio reports, it's not uncommon for some Ukrainian parents to put their child(ren) into care because of difficulties that would be considered 'temporary' in nature, in the UK. It was also suggested that some Ukranian parents, in putting their children into care, hope for them to be adopted by those who can offer a better material standard of living-(the Madonna effect).
ReplyDeleteBoth Elton John and David Furness would be considered too old to adopt such a young child in the UK....it will be interesting to see whether fame, a large bank-balance and a homosexual lifestyle can overcome the parental age criteria which is enforced on other, perfectly suitable, adoptive parents.