It seems unbelievable to me, that despite a long campaign and protests by the MAA (Movement for an Adoption Apology) and a report and recommendations from the Joint Committee of Human Rights, who called on the Government to issue a formal apology to unmarried mothers who had their babies taken for adoption in the late 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s, our Conservative Government still refuses to issue a formal apology.
The committee found that the Government bore ultimate responsibility for the pain and suffering caused by public institutions and state employees that railroaded mothers into unwanted adoptions. It further called 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. The Irish Government formally apologised in 2021. Nicola Sturgeon apologised on behalf of the Scottish government in March 2023 and the Welsh government followed in April 2023. Australia, New Zealand and many European governments have done the same. What is it about our current Conservative government, in Westminster, that it is unable to make this same formal apology, to all the unmarried Mothers and their children, who have carried the pain of separation for many decades. They say that they accept that it was wrong and shouldn’t have happened but said
“We do not think it is appropriate for a formal government apology,
as the state did not actively support these practices.”
Recently, however, documents have been revealed to show that over the years, petitions have been put before successive governments to put an end to these practices. The response has always been ‘This has been noted’ – yet no legislation was ever put in place to stop it!