Govt rejects Elton John's adoption bid

       Elton John won't be able to adopt a 14-month-old HIVpositive child from Ukraine because the pop star is too old and isn't married, the government said on Monday.
       Adoption and gay rights advocates expressed regret about the decision by Family, Youth and Sports Minister Yuriy Pavlenko. A children's charity had expressed reservations about Sir Elton's weekend announcement that he and his male partner, David Furnish, wanted to adopt the boy.
       Sir Elton announced his desire after meeting the boy, named Lev, while touring an orphanage Saturday as part of an anti-Aids charity project.
       "He has stolen my heart. And he has stolen David's heart and it would be
       wonderful if we can have a home," Sir Elton said.
       But Mr Pavlenko said that the adoption will not happen because adoptive parents must be married and because the pop star is too old.
       The singer is 62 and Ukrainian law requires a parent to be no more than 45 years older than an adopted child.
       Sir Elton and Mr FurAP nish tied the knot in 2005 in one of the first legalised civil unions in Britain, but Ukraine does not recognise gay unions as marriage.
       "Elton John will not be able to adopt a Ukrainian child and if he files that request we will unfortunately deny it,"Mr Pavlenko said."The law is the same for everybody: For a president, for a minister, for Elton John."
       Mr Pavlenko added that Ukraine was grateful for the singer's charity work and expressed hope that his desire to adopt Lev would spur the domestic adoption of more children with health problems, which is still rare in Ukraine.
       Ukrainians are reluctant to adopt ill,psychologically challenged children or those older than 10.
       Mr Pavlenko said that only about 30 HIV-positive children have been adopted since 2007. About 32,000 Ukrainian orphans are waiting to be adopted this year, but only 2,000 Ukrainian families have applied to adopt them.
       Albert Pavlov, head of the Happy Child foundation for orphaned and sick children in Zaporizhia, said he opposed adoption by gays, but called for removing age and marriage restrictions.
       "I don't understand why a middleaged single woman, if she is in good health, cannot raise a child," he said.
       Unicef's local representative said that foreign adoptions should be encouraged when no local families can be found.