Adoption of the children of unmarried mothers from the 1940s-1970s

Committee Corridor

In this week's episode of Committee Corridor, we hear the stories of two women who suffered great pain and great loss as a result of decisions which were taken out of their hands. From the 1940s to the 1970s, tens of thousands of children were adopted simply because their mothers weren't married, and even though their mothers did not want to let them go.

Last year, the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report about the adoption of children of unmarried women from 1940s-1970s. Podcast host Joanna Cherry speaks to two women directly affected about their experiences before catching up with Harriet Harman KC MP about the outcomes from the Joint Committee’s work.

Ann Keen was born in 1948 in North Wales. She became pregnant and was sent to a mother and baby home at the age of just 17, back in 1966. She went on to work in the NHS as a nurse, and later, she served as the Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth from 1997 to 2010.

Liz Harvie was born in a maternity hospital in Northampton in 1974, her birth mother was unmarried. Liz was adopted at eight-weeks-old, and she lived with her adopted parents, and her brother, also adopted, who joined the family, two years later.

We understand that the issues raised in the podcast may be sensitive or upsetting and the following organisations may be able to offer support or further information:

Samaritans - Call 116 123 - 24 hours a day, every day | Email [e-mail]

PAC-UK - Independent Adoption Support Agency offering: Advice, Support, Counselling & Training. The advice line is available on 020 7284 5879 and 0113 230 2100.

Adoption UK Charity – For information on a range of adoption-related issues and campaigns for improvements to adoption policy and legislation. The helpline is available on 0300 666 0006.

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