Foreigners hoping to adopt children from Africa will no longer be able to count on Ethiopia.

The country’s parliament has banned international adoptions by foreigners in an effort to protect children from possible abuse by their new parents.

An American couple was jailed in 2012 for the death of their adopted 13-year old Ethiopian daughter. They beat and starved the girl, who they adopted in 2008.

From Quartz. Story by Yomi Kazeem.

International adoptions from Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa have been long-running but they seem to have gained popularity as major celebrities, including Hollywood and stars Mary-Louise Parker, Angelina Jolie and pop veteran Madonna adopted African children.

But the popularity of adoptions has also raised fears over the possibility of exploiting the process for human trafficking. In 2016, Denmark banned adoptions from Ethiopia, claiming a lack of data on the origins of children adopted from the country could facilitate trafficking. Some other countries have also set up more stringent rules for the international adoption process.

Ethiopia’s parliament says vulnerable children should be catered to by state’s children services. However, there are doubts over the sustainability of that arrangement.

The bans on adoptions have adversely affected U.S.-based adoption agencies which process thousands of adoption requests.

Read more at Quartz.