The Joint Committee on Human Rights has called on the Government to issue a formal apology to unmarried mothers who had their babies taken for adoption in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
In a report published today, the Joint Committee finds that the Government bears ultimate responsibility for the pain and suffering caused by public institutions and state employees that railroaded mothers into unwanted adoptions.
It further calls for more to be done to support those dealing with the life-long consequences of these adoptions, urging the Government to improve access to counselling and remove barriers to accessing adoption documents.
Between 1949 and 1976, in England and Wales an estimated 185,000 children were taken from unmarried mothers and adopted. Women and girls who became pregnant outside of marriage during these decades were seen as having shamed themselves and their families. Babies were taken from their mothers who did not want to let them go.
Over the course of the inquiry, the Joint Committee heard harrowing testimonies from the mothers, adopted people and their relatives who went through these traumatic experiences and still live with the legacy of suffering. While each case is unique, their stories share common threads that make clear the cruelty they suffered.
The report details the fear that unmarried women and girls felt when they discovered they were pregnant and the difficulty in seeking help.
Families and institutions, including schools, churches, social and healthcare workers, prioritised hiding what was regarded as a shameful situation rather than providing emotional and medical support, in many cases sending unmarried mothers far away from where they lived so their pregnancy could remain a secret from their family and community.
Mothers and adoptees spoke of the life-long of suffering and impact on their mental health and challenges in forming future relationships.
The report calls for better access to adoption-specific counselling for those affected by the legacy of adoption practices during this time and in these circumstances. It urges the Government to take urgent steps to remove barriers resulting in the lack of counsellors trained in post-adoption support.
There remain challenges for those trying to trace their mother or child. Despite having a legal entitlement to adoption records, some applicants have to wait months or years to receive them. Birth and adoption certificates contain different names making it difficult to link the two.
Adopted people face serious difficulties from not knowing their parents’ medical history, unable to take preventative care for inheritable diseases. The report calls for on the Government to remove bureaucratic barriers that are exacerbating the trauma of these adoptions. Guidelines should be set for local authorities to improve access to records and their performance monitored. Birth and adoption certificates, should be linked and there should be improved sharing of medical information, while respecting data protection and privacy laws.
Publishing the report, Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP said:
“The unique importance of the bond between mother and child has been acknowledged down the centuries. Yet in this country, just a few decades ago, that bond between hundreds of thousands of mothers and their babies was brutally ruptured and the baby taken for adoption. The mothers’ only ‘crime’ was to have become pregnant while unmarried. Their ‘sentence’ was a lifetime of secrecy and pain. They were told they had ‘given’ their baby for adoption when they had done no such thing. Their child grew up being told that their mother had ‘given them away’. The mothers had to endure a cruel double dose of shame. First, the shame of getting pregnant out of wedlock and second, when society’s attitude to unmarried mothers changed, they were judged for supposedly not caring about their babies and giving away their baby.
“These adoptions would never happen now and should not have happened then. They did nothing wrong but were themselves wronged. The joint committee on Human rights acknowledges the grave wrong done to these mothers and their children. It is time for the government to do the same and issue the apology they seek. For decades they have been vilified. Now they need to be vindicated
