British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday issued a formal apology on behalf of the British state for its role in the historical practice of forced adoptions in England and Wales, acknowledging the lifelong trauma inflicted on unmarried mothers, their children and families.
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Addressing Parliament, Starmer said the state had failed tens of thousands of people subjected to a system that coerced many women into surrendering their babies between 1949 and 1976, when social stigma around pregnancy outside marriage was prevalent.
"The shame is not yours. The shame was never yours. The shame is ours," Starmer said, adding that young and vulnerable mothers were "coerced, bullied, or misled" into believing they had no choice but to give up their children. He described the practice as "a stain on our history."
