Elton John Unable to Adopt

Elton John and his longtime partner David Furnish were hoping to adopt a Ukrainian orphan, but have been denied because of a national law that prohibits unmarried couples from adopting. Despite the fact that John and Furnish tied the knot in 2005 in one of the first legal civil unions in the U.K, Yuruy Pavlenko (Ukraine's Family, Youth and Sports Minister) says that Ukraine does not recognize homosexual unions as marriage.

On top of that, another law requires potential adoptive parents to be no more than 45 years older than the child to be adopted. Elton John is 62, making him ineligible to adopt the 14-month-old boy, named Lev. John met the boy while touring a hospital for HIV-infected children as part of a charity project.

While Pavlenko said Ukraine was grateful for John's charity work, he says: "Foreign citizens who are single have no right to adopt children ... and the age difference between the adopter and the child cannot be more than 45 years. The law is the same for everybody: for a president, for a minister, for Elton John."

Daniel Pearl World Music Days!

Please join Elton John, Herbie Hancock, Alison Krauss and many more in an international network of concerts using the power of music to reaffirm our commitment to tolerance and humanity.

Last year, more than 1,000 events in 59 countries commemorated the life of journalist- musician Daniel Pearl - a seeker of truth who used his pen and fiddle to foster tolerance, bridge cultural divides and spread friendship and humanity. Please visit danielpearlmusicdays.org to register your upcoming October events today.

There is no financial obligation involved. Your participation in the World Music Days network of concerts requires only that you make a dedication from the stage or in the printed program to the values by which Danny lived. If you do not have any concerts scheduled during the October window, events can be registered as Tribute Events year round.