Two American parents have joined forces with a documentary filmmaker to urge the Russian government to end the anti-adoption law which is stopping over 300 children coming to the U.S., according to an emailed statement.
Sarah McCarthy's latest film "The Dark Matter of Love" tells the story of the last three Russian children adopted by parents in the U.S., before the controversial law was passed at the end of 2012. Her film will be screened at the Moscow Film Festival later this month and aims to show much pain the law is causing.
Mil and Dianna Wallen's teenage son Maxim, nicknamed Max, is one of the children affected by the adoption ban.
"We miss Max terribly every day. Our son is now stuck on the other side of the world because of this new law," said Mil and Dianna Wallen. "But it's not just our son. More than 300 children, many with severe health problems, are currently stuck in orphanages in Russia. These children have adoptive families whom they have met and started to fall in love with, waiting for them in America."
The Wallens have launched a urging the Russian government to allow them to complete the adoption of their teenage son Max.
So far more than 63,000 have signed the petition.
"We always end our conversations with Max with 'I love you to the moon and back,' and Maxim tells us he loves us 'to the moon and back,'" said Mil and Dianna.
The anti-adoption law is viewed by many as the Kremlin's retaliation to the Magnitsky Act, which bans Russian officials deemed to have violated human rights from acquiring U.S. visas and assets.
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