Starmer apologises for forced adoptions in postwar Britain

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has formally apologised for the British state’s role in the forced adoption of babies born to unmarried mothers after World War II. The apology matters for thousands of families still living with the effects of a system that, according to AFP and Reuters, separated an estimated 185,000 children from their mothers between 1949 and 1976.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Starmer said the state had failed to shield mothers, children and families from harm. He described the forced adoption system as a stain on the country’s history and said the shame belonged to the state and others responsible, according to AFP and Reuters.

The practices involved government bodies, Christian churches, local authorities, voluntary organisations and health and social care services, Starmer said. Many of the mothers were teenagers, and campaigners have long said they were pressured, shamed or coerced into giving up their babies.

Starmer announced 4 million pounds, or about $5.3 million, in funding to help people obtain adoption records, support services that seek to reconnect relatives, and research the long-term effects on those affected, AFP and Reuters reported.

Apology follows years of campaigning

The statement came four years after a parliamentary committee called for a government apology. The committee’s 2022 investigation described the treatment of pregnant unmarried women and new mothers as inhumane and cruel, according to AFP and Reuters.

The committee documented accounts of women being denied pain relief during labour and after birth as punishment. It also recorded testimony from women who said babies were taken from them while they were crying.

One woman told the committee that a doctor asked whether she had learned her lesson while she was in labour. Another survivor recalled a doctor saying she should be sterilised and calling her a nymphomaniac, AFP and Reuters reported.

Although abortion became legal in England, Scotland and Wales in 1967, AFP and Reuters reported that some women still faced obstacles, including doctors who refused to provide the procedure.

Church role acknowledged

Starmer’s apology followed a statement last month from the Church of England, which apologised for its part in the forced adoptions. AFP and Reuters reported that the church had run mother and baby homes where pregnant women were sent, often against their will, before being separated from their children.

Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally apologised for the pain, shame and indignity imposed on mothers and children. She said the shame placed on them was wrong and that the church was ashamed of what happened in Christian communities’ care, according to AFP and Reuters.

On Thursday, Starmer met campaigners at Downing Street, including former Labour Member of Parliament Ann Keen, who was forced to give up her baby son for adoption at age 17, according to a Reuters photo caption.

Other countries have also issued apologies for forced adoptions. AFP and Reuters reported that Australia apologised in 2013 and Ireland followed in 2021.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.