From the 1950s to the late 1980s, as many as 215,000 unmarried mothers in the UK were forced to give up their babies for adoption, according to the campaign group Movement for An Adoption Apology.
See full video interview below.
Over 70 years later, in 2022, an inquiry by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights found the state ultimately responsible and urged a formal apology.
This summer, survivors staged the first protest of its kind, marching from Parliament Square to Downing Street. In this story, Judy Baker, now 80, describes how losing her baby at 18 “affected my whole life.”
Campaigners warn many mothers have died without recognition.
The effects of an forced adoption
In this video Judy Baker tells her story, and she’s also attending the protest at Parliament Square, while Jane Foers, an adoptee counsellor, talks about the effects of an forced adoption.
Scotland and Wales have apologised
While Scotland and Wales have apologised, the UK government has not. Instead, a Department for Education spokesperson told ITV News: “This abhorrent practice should never have taken place… we continue to engage with those impacted to provide support and consider what more can be done.”
The government has not responded to requests for additional comment.
They are not engaging with anyone that I am aware of. Nor are they looking at what support needs to be put in place. It is a total lie and deflection from the Govt. Pls ask them exactly what they are doing to address the needs of this long forgotten and overlooked group of people. We were legally trafficked as infants and no one has come forward to offer an apogy for the life that was stolen from me.