Forced Adoption — Who Cares?
Excerpt from a letter my birth mother sent to the authorities.
The above quote is a snippet from a letter my birth mother (aged 18) wrote in 1968 in a futile attempt to stop her baby — me — from forcibly being taken from her. Yet, despite the adamant tone in those words, I was removed from her care after spending a month by her side, and left with foster parents until I was adopted when I was six months old.
Subsequent correspondence shows how nuns from the Catholic order of the Sisters of Nazareth,¹ repeatedly claimed she would not make a capable mother and I would be better cared for elsewhere.
I have read many horrific cases about mothers who were at Nazareth house in Southampton, as my own birth mum had been. One young woman wrote about how she was informed her baby would be put up for adoption, there was no choice but to flee. After being threatened at the unit, she literally went on the run. Thankfully, kind people in the area took her in and offered assistance, and she managed to keep her baby.²
In the 1960s there was a stigma associated with unmarried mothers. Indeed, getting pregnant out of wedlock was considered a dreadful, shameful mistake. As well as incredibly irresponsible. It was common for these women to be pressured or coerced into giving up their babies. They were not allowed a chance to mother their own child.
Just imagine that for a moment…
The authorities took control and all concerned were told the best thing for everyone would be adoption. In the name of Christianity!
What kind of god would steal a child from their mother’s love without her consent?
I have been in possession of my birth mum’s letters since I contacted the society who dealt with the adoption when I was in my mid 20s. However, even after reading them several times, I couldn’t face up to the harsh,
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