Forced adoptions in Britain were to everybody’s shame | Letters
As well as a government apology, parents, charities and mother and baby homes should take responsibility, writes Christine HayesThe adoption of babies in the 1960s and 70s has become a...
By Guardian Staff · The Guardian Opinion
As well as a government apology, parents, charities and mother and baby homes should take responsibility, writes Christine Hayes The adoption of babies in the 1960s and 70s has become a hot topic again ( Forced adoption survivors to get full apology from UK government, says Phillipson, 17 June ). As an adoption social worker at that time, I remember the trauma suffered by birth parents when their babies were removed for adoption. However, I’m afraid that the parents of these women cannot be let off the hook. Young women and girls who became pregnant outside of marriage were told by their parents that they had brought shame on the family, and that they were to go away and not return until the baby was no longer with them. This was the norm in society then, and children’s charities played a big part. Mother and baby homes were carrying out what society requested. Continue reading...