The Church of England is planning to issue an apology for its role in historical forced adoption, the BBC has learned. Forced adoptions took place in the three decades after World War Two and involved tens of thousands of babies being taken from their mothers simply because the women were unmarried. The Church ran about 100 mother and baby homes across England where unmarried pregnant women would be sent, in effect, to hide them from society.
The BBC has seen a draft of an apology prepared by the Church, in which it says "we are deeply sorry". One of those women was Jan Doyle. In 1963, at 16 years old, she was unmarried and became pregnant.
She was sent to a mother and baby home in Kent and recalled what she said were the "harsh" conditions of the home. "If the floors needed washing, we would have to get down on our hands and knees, even though we were pregnant," she said. " I think I was down on my hands and knees the day before my son was born." Jan's baby boy, David, was taken from her a few weeks after she gave birth.
They were reunited after 63 years, when he reached out to her, and now see each other on quite a regular basis. Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) investigated historical forced adoptions after the BBC first reported on the issue back in 2021. The committee concluded that around 185,000 babies were caught up in forced adoptions between 1949 and 1976.
Not all the birth mothers went through a Church of England mother and baby home. Others were run by different Church and welfare groups. In an early draft of the Church's apology, seen by the BBC, the Church said: "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". Dr Michael Lambert, from Lancaster University, has researched the Church's role in historical forced adoptions. He said: "An apology from the Church of England would mean a great deal to those affected".
"I think it would go a significant way towards changing the narrative that we understand from the period, from one of sin and shame, to one that recognises the enormous harm and damage these institutions did on a systematic scale to tens of thousands of women and the children that were taken from them." The Church of England will be the latest institution to issue an apology for its role in forced adoptions. In 2016, the then Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, apologised for the "hurt caused" by adoption agencies acting in the name of the Catholic Church. The Scottish and Welsh governments have also apologised for their roles in 2023.
When it comes, the Church of England's apology is likely to put pressure on the UK government, which has never formally apologised for its role in forced adoptions. The birth mothers and adoptees have campaigned for years for an apology from the UK government, arguing that many of the mother and baby homes were paid for by the state. However, giving evidence to the Education Select Committee last month, Children and Families Minister Josh MacAlister acknowledged that the state "had a role" in historical forced adoptions.
"It is not good enough to describe what happened simply as a result of the actions of society," he said. MacAlister said the case for a formal apology was "being actively considered" by the government, adding the need for a "comprehensive" apology was "urgent". The BBC has contacted the government for comment.
Those involved in forced adoptions say they appreciate that the Church of England is now reaching out to them. But Jan Doyle, who lived through the experience of giving birth in a mother and baby home, is cautious. She wants to see the final draft of an apology before fully embracing it.
"It was wicked the way they treated us, so [an apology] would have to be heartfelt – one that really did hold water."
