Forced adoptions: Call for government apology to mothers

Hundreds of thousands of unmarried women who were forced to give up their babies for adoption should receive a government apology, a report has said.

The inquiry, by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, was set up following a series of reports by BBC News.

It says 185,000 women in the 1950s, 60s and 70s were "shamed" and "coerced" into giving up their babies. Judy Baker, who was 18 when she gave birth in the 1960s, said she never got to say goodbye to her baby.

In its response to the committee's conclusions, the government said: "We have the deepest sympathy to all those affected by historic forced adoption.

"While we cannot undo the past, we have strengthened our legislation and practice to be built on empathy, from NHS maternity services caring for vulnerable women and babies, to our work transforming the adoption process and care system to help children settle into stable homes."

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