MOSCOW, April 23 (RAPSI) - Russia's Healthcare Ministry is prepared to allow individuals who are HIV or hepatitis positive to adopt children, the Kommersant business daily reported on Tuesday.

The ministry's public health department has sent the respective proposals to the Education and Science Ministry and to Alexandra Volgina, an HIV activist and leader of E.V.A, a Russian organization for women with HIV, Kommersant writes.

According to the sponsors of the proposal, if someone is registered as HIV positive, this should not affect their potential to become an adoptive parent. Thanks to progress made in medical science over the last ten years, HIV positive individuals receiving proper medication are usually in good general health and only have to undergo routine treatment.

The ministry has come to this position after the outcome of two litigations. In 2010, Svetlana Izambayeva from Kazan, who was diagnosed with HIV, successfully contested the guardianship authorities' refusal to allow her to adopt a child. Another woman from Petrozavodsk, who was infected with hepatitis during surgery, won a similar case in 2012.

The government is ready to support this initiative, provided that the prospective adopted parent's condition poses no threat to the child. The government passed a resolution in February allowing people being treated for stage I and II cancer to adopt children.