MOSCOW, December 6 (RAPSI) – Russian government has approved a bill allowing individuals infected with HIV or Hepatitis C to adopt children in certain circumstances, a statement of the Cabinet of Ministers reads.

The bill has been prepared in accordance with the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

According to the draft law, courts may make an exception to the rule prohibiting adoption by infected individuals if due to emergent circumstances children already live with them. It was noted that the bill applies to all diseases that ban adoption listed in a special registry.

The registry was established by Russian government in 2013 and lists infectious diseases that make it impossible for a person to adopt or assume legal guardianship of a child unless medical supervision is terminated due to a persistent remission.

The Constitutional Court’s ruling was passed on June 20. The court held that although restrictions are justified there is no option to take into account all the necessary circumstances. For example, if a child already lives in a family of a citizen planning to adopt this child, an adoption would only legally confirm the existing paternal relationship without increasing risks of infection.