Forced adoptions: 'The shame was never yours'

The prime minister has apologised on behalf of the UK government to mothers and adopted children affected by historical forced adoption, saying: 'The shame is not yours. The shame was never yours. The shame is ours and I say that on behalf of the whole country, I say it to every single person impacted, we are deeply and profoundly sorry.'

An estimated 185,000 babies and birth mothers were affected during the post-war period between 1946 and as recently as 1976.

Pregnancy outside marriage was shameful and the young women were made to feel that they had sinned and were unworthy to be mothers. To hide these pregnancies, families sent their daughters, usually only teenagers, to homes for unmarried mothers mostly run by religious institutions or medical professionals. After birth, these young mothers were coerced into signing forms consenting to their babies’ adoptions.

These birth mothers, if still alive, are in their 80s and 90s. Many have carried the lifelong trauma of having their babies wrongly removed from them. Not only is it the birth mothers who have suffered so unjustly but the now adult adoptees have lost their family history and identity and also the human right of being cared for by their birth family.

The introduction of the Adoption Act 1976 ended these private adoption arrangements. It is now only local authorities or registered adoption agencies that can arrange adoptions.

The government recognises that an apology alone is not enough and has announced steps to address the far reaching impact of this injustice of forced adoptions, including 'improving access to adoption records, expanding services to support family reconnection and working with NHS England to improve access to appropriate health support, including with mental health challenges.'

The prime minister’s formal apology is long overdue. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland have already given their own formal apologies.

Northern Ireland is setting up a statutory public inquiry led by the Northern Ireland Executive to investigate mother and baby institutions, magdalene laundries and workhouses where many of these forced adoptions took place.

Adoption now is unrecognisable as it moves towards open adoptions involving birth families in their children’s adoption, where this is safe for the adopted child.

Today’s adoptions usually concern older children to be adopted from the care system when many have memories and experience of growing up in their birth families.

Naomi Angell is a consultant at Dawson Cornwell LLP