Church of England to Issue Formal Apology for Forced Adoptions
The Church of England is anticipated to formally apologise for its involvement in forced adoptions and the UK’s mother and baby home scandal. Survivors of this scandal, which saw hundreds of thousands of children forcibly separated from their mothers, have welcomed the announcement after years of campaigning for recognition.
The church operated and was connected to numerous institutions across the UK where unmarried pregnant women were sent to give birth in secrecy during the postwar period. Following birth, children were often handed over to married couples, some of whom had made donations to "moral welfare" organisations involved in the process.
Anglican mother and baby homes were part of a nationwide network of properties, including those run by the Catholic Church and the Salvation Army, which collaborated with statutory agencies. Women and children in these homes frequently endured abuse and neglect. Despite this, the Westminster government has yet to issue a formal apology for its role.
An early draft of the Church of England's apology reportedly states:
"We acknowledge the lifelong impact of these experiences and the part the church played in a system shaped by attitudes and behaviours that we now recognise as harmful. For the pain and trauma experienced – and still carried – by many women and children in Church affiliated mother and baby homes, we are deeply sorry."
A 2021 parliamentary inquiry identified thousands of forced adoptions involving unmarried mothers in England and Wales between 1949 and 1973 alone. The inquiry concluded that there was a need for an apology for the suffering caused by public institutions and their employees involved in these practices.
Since the last mother and baby homes closed in the late 1980s and records remain incomplete, campaigners assert that many more individuals were affected than officially documented.
Personal Accounts and Campaigners’ Perspectives
Phil Frampton, a writer and campaigner from Manchester, was born in an Anglican institution in 1953 due to his parents being in a mixed heritage relationship. His Nigerian father, a mining engineering researcher, was deported after authorities became aware of their relationship, while his white British mother, a grammar school teacher from Birmingham, was sent to the Rosemundy mother and baby home in St Agnes, Cornwall.
"A lot of survivors will be delighted. What’s coming is a big victory after all the campaigning people have done over the last 20 years – providing that the wording is not mealy-mouthed and designed to protect the church. It will not be good enough for the church to say they were guided by the morality of the time – they were supposed to set the morality of the time and they did that by their actions.
"The church and state were the principal supporters of forced adoptions and they should be compensating all the survivors for the hell they put them through. If the church is fully open on this, under the new archbishop of Canterbury, then this part of the pressure on the UK government to apologise. The UK is way behind in making an apology and providing support for survivors to find their children and parents, to bring closure and new beginnings."
Research and Government Response
Research conducted by Dr Michael Lambert of Lancaster University has indicated the use of the lactation-suppressing drug diethylstilbestrol in some unmarried mothers’ homes. Additionally, an ITV investigation has uncovered unmarked graves across England containing the remains of children from these institutions.
During testimony to the education select committee last month, children and families minister Josh MacAlister acknowledged that the UK state "had a role" in historical forced adoptions and stated that the case for a formal apology was "being actively considered."
Governments in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have already issued apologies, as have the Salvation Army and the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
