On December 27, the upper house of Russia's parliament passed a long-awaited maternity incentive bill. I know there has been a lot of concern on Russia chat boards about the impact of this law--worries that it signaled the start of a crackdown on international adoptions. But I think it is good news for prospective Russian adoption parents, and here's why.

The new law will, it is true, give money to Russian families that have a second child. The amount, which will be deposited into something akin to our IRA accounts, is now set at 250,000 roubles (a little over $9,400 at January 2007 exchange rates), and it will increase over time based on inflation. That should be a big help to Russian parents.

Why? The changes that came to Russia with glasnost did great things for its economy and economic development. But they poked holes--sometimes quite large--in a social service safety net that had been the underpinning of Russian life for 70 years. The country's birth rate plummeted: Russian President Vladimir Putin said in May 2006 that Russia's population was falling by about 700,000 a year. The United Nations has warned that Russia's current population of 142 million could drop by another one third by 2050.

But the law has a fillip that also makes it important to us: The money will be paid to Russian families if they expand their families by adoption as well. Adoptions by Russian have fallen in recent years, even though the Russian economy has been expanding at a very healthy pace. Shortly after the law was enacted, Mikhail Zurabov, Russia's Minister for Health and Social Development, announced that his family would adopt a second child.

This new law could cause other Russian families to do the same. And in doing so, it may soothe right-wing politicians in Russia, who have been lobbying to keep all of Russia's children in Russia. No international adoptions. Let's cross our fingers and hope Putin's bill will put that pressure at bay.