UK issues formal apology to single mothers forced to give babies into adoption

Outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed Parliament on Thursday and apologized for what he described as the government’s decades-long role in forcing unmarried women to give their babies up for adoption. Tens of thousands of young, vulnerable mothers were bullied or manipulated into giving their children away from 1949 to 1976, Starmer said. The government estimated around 185,000 babies were adopted from unmarried single mothers across England and Wales throughout the 1950s and into the 1970s.

This practice of forcing young, unwed mothers into giving up babies was embedded across several levels of government and faith-based institutions, he said. Groups operated without compassion, dignity, or consent from mothers, which is a stain on British history, the prime minister said. Starmer described meeting with mothers and now-adult adoptees affected by the historic practices just before addressing lawmakers. He said reading and hearing their raw and private testimonies was hard, given that he himself is a father. Some women were cut off from their families or jobs, and others were subjected to harsh and abusive treatment, Starmer said.

Young women were told they were immoral and that their children would be better without them, while children grew up thinking they were unwanted, he said. Starmer acknowledged that the formal apology would not heal every wound caused by the program, but said he hoped his apology would help remove the shame many women internalized from the program.

British Education Minister Bridget Phillipson hinted at the formal apology while testifying before lawmakers several weeks before Starmer’s address. An apology won’t undo the damage, but it's the start of meaningful change, she said in a Thursday statement. The government planned to support those seeking records and intermediary services, as well as research and testimonial projects to document the program’s long-term impact, she added.

Will the government do anything beyond a verbal apology? Starmer’s office released a Thursday statement introducing a £4 million support package, equivalent to $5.3 million, to help those impacted by the forced adoption program. The money will help victims access records and fund intermediary services to help reconnect them with family members, the prime minister’s office said.