Ministers should formally apologize to tens of thousands of unwed mothers in England and Wales whose babies were put up for adoption in a “brutal and cruel” process, MPs and peers have said.
The Joint Commission on Human Rights (JCHR) estimates that 185,000 children were taken from their mothers between 1949 and 1976 and says the government bears ultimate responsibility for the pain and suffering caused by public institutions and government officials involved in the process.
A damning report released on Friday said the women and girls suffered stigma and shame, first for becoming pregnant out of wedlock and later because they were wrongly perceived to have voluntarily given up their children.
The legacy was a lifetime of suffering for mothers and adoptees, including mental health impacts and challenges in forming future relationships.
In oral evidence to the JCHR, Judy Baker, who gave birth two days before her 19th birthday and had her baby put up for adoption seven weeks later, said: “It’s 53 years later and I’m still a wreck about it , which happened to me and my daughter.
“We’ve been silent for so long because of this terrible cloak of shame that was placed on us that we never deserved… I never got to say goodbye. They took her to the next room where her new parents were waiting and that was that.
The report said adoption practices at the time “lacked humanity”, with many mothers left feeling they had no real choice in placing their children for adoption. The commission heard evidence that they were often treated appallingly by people whose job it was to help them, such as social workers and NHS medical staff, and by members of their own families.
Many women and girls were moved to mother-and-baby homes – run by the state or religious and charitable organizations – for the last weeks of their pregnancies. There some were punished for having a child out of wedlock, forced to scrub stairs and floors. One recalled that those who objected were slapped.
The adoptees told the commission that they were admonished to ask about their pasts and that when they did get an answer, they were sometimes told – falsely – that their mothers had betrayed them.
The committee said the state should apologize because it was responsible for the conduct of staff in public bodies such as the NHS and “the policies and laws of the time, and the gaps in policy and law that allowed these practices”.
Harriet Harman, Member of Parliament, Chair of the JCHR, said: “Mothers’ only ‘crime’ was getting pregnant while unmarried. Their “sentence” was a lifetime of secrecy and pain. They were told that they had “given” their baby up for adoption, but had done no such thing. Their child grew up being told that their mother betrayed them.
“Mothers had to bear a cruel double dose of shame. First, the shame of getting pregnant out of wedlock, and second, when society’s attitude towards unwed mothers changed, they were judged for allegedly not caring about their babies and giving them away.
“These adoptions would never happen now, and they shouldn’t have happened then. They did nothing wrong, but they themselves were wronged. The Joint Commission on Human Rights recognizes the grave wrong done to these mothers and their children. Time for the government to do the same and make the apologies they want.
As well as calling on the government to issue a formal apology, the JCHR says it needs to do more to support those dealing with the lifelong consequences, including improving access to counseling for those affected by the legacy of adoption practices and removing barriers to access to adoption documents.
A government spokesman said: “Our deepest sympathies go out to all those affected by the historic forced adoption.
“While we cannot undo the past, we have strengthened our law and practice to build on empathy, from NHS maternity services caring for vulnerable women and babies to our work transforming the adoption process and the care to help children settle into stable homes.
“Help is available for those affected by past adoption practices, including tracing their birth children or parents.”
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