I’ve always appreciated Elton John’s perspective on children. He’s given interview after interview over the years describing, with a lot of honesty, his lack of desire to become a father. He always said it was because of the schedule he kept with touring and all, and that he loved and adored being a godfather to some crazy amount of godchildren (the count’s at a dozen, I think, including Liz Hurley‘s son Damien and at least one of the Beckham boys). Elton had already claimed that when he dies, his money will go to charity and to his godchildren. Elton has also always been honest about his advancing years. Elton is 62 years old – so it seems strange that this is the point in his life when he would begin to seriously consider becoming a father. But it looks like Elton is reconsidering, all because a 14-month-old Ukrainian orphan “stole his heart”:

Sir Elton John said he wants to adopt a 14-month-old boy from an orphanage in Ukraine who has ‘stolen his heart’.

The 62-year-old singer was introduced to the toddler while visiting the country with his Aids foundation.

During the trip the musician performed ‘Circle of Life’ for the children, some of whom were there because their parents had died of the disease.

At a press conference later, he and partner David Furnish, 46, were asked whether they had thought of adopting.

Sir Elton said: ‘David and I have always talked about adoption, David always wanted to adopt a child and I always said ‘no’ because I am 62 and I think because of the traveling I do and the life I have, maybe it wouldn’t be fair for the child.’

‘But having seen Lev today, I would love to adopt him. I don’t know how we do that but he has stolen my heart. And he has stolen David’s heart and it would be wonderful if we can have a home. I’ve changed my mind today.’

The singer added that the death of his long-term keyboardist, Guy Babylon, had also helped change his mind.

‘Last week I lost one of my best friends, my keyboard player died of a heart attack at 52. It broke my heart because he was such a genius and so young and has two wonderful children. What better opportunity to replace someone I lost than to replace him with someone I can give a future to.’

‘I don’t know what the procedure is to adopt a boy from the Ukraine. I don’t think that I can because England has a treaty with the Ukraine but David is Canadian so we might be able to work through something like that.’

Sir Elton has been in a relationship with Furnish, a former advertising executive and now film maker, since 1993. They entered into a civil partnership in December 2005.

Ukraine has the fastest rising HIV rates in Europe. Two years ago Sir Elton gave a free concert on the main square in Kiev attended by tens of thousands people to raise awareness of HIV and Aids.

The singer has been heavily involved in the fight against Aids since the late 1980s, and was knighted in 1998. The Elton John Aids Foundation collaborates with the Ukrainian Anti-Aids Foundation of Olena Franchuk, daughter of former President Leonid Kuchma.

[From the Daily Mail]

A lot of sources seem to be running this story like “Elton John plans to adopt right now” but I don’t think that’s what he’s saying. Elton sounds more like he’s thinking aloud, trying to figure out if there’s a way for him to adopt the child, and whether or not it would be a good idea. Radar has pictures of the little boy, and you can see why the kid stole Elton’s heart – the baby looks like a sweetheart. Personally, I think Elton is too old to adopt in general, but I can understand why he’s at a point in his life where he thinks he could now be a father. If the adoption happens, God bless. I’m sure Elton and David Furnish would make great dads.

Update: Here are photos of Elton John and David Furnish at a “news conference at a orphanage for HIV positive children in the town of Makeyevka, Ukraine on September 12, 2009. The 62 year old singer has announced that he and his partner David Furnish want to give a home to a 14 month old boy from the Ukrainian HIV orphanage. Sir Elton said the blond-haired child, called Lev, had ‘stolen his heart’. He said: ‘I would love to adopt him.'” [Quote from photo source: Fame Pictures]

Update #2: Ukraine’s minister for family affairs released a statement saying that there would be no way for Elton and David to adopt this child, or any child from Ukraine. The minister 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.” Elton and David are married – in England. Their union is not recognized by the Ukrainian government, so that’s why both of them would be considered “single”. As for the age thing – well, yeah. That’s a bigger deal (in my mind) than any question about their single status.

Elton John and David Furnish are shown in St. Tropez on 8/6/09 and 8/13/09. Credit: WENN.com