Historical injustices of Scotland
Sturgeon apologizes for forced adoptions
03/22/2023, 18:07
Not so long ago, particularly unmarried Scottish women met a difficult fate in large numbers. Authorities separate thousands of their babies and give them up for adoption. Children grow up believing their mothers gave them away.
Outgoing Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has publicly apologized for the practice of forced adoptions in her part of the country. “We recognize the terrible wrong we have done and we can unanimously say that we are sorry,” said Sturgeon, visibly touched, in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
According to Britain’s PA news agency, around 60,000 women in Scotland alone were separated from their babies by the authorities by the late 1970s and put up for adoption. Unmarried mothers were particularly affected. Women were treated as second-class citizens in society at the time, Sturgeon said. Some of the children were mistreated or abused in their foster families. All of these children also grew up believing that their mother freely chose to put them up for adoption. “It understandably influenced her – but it was never the truth,” Sturgeon said.
Forced adoptions are among the “worst injustices in our history,” added the Scottish National Party (SNP) politician, who plans to vacate her post for a successor next week.
Nicola Sturgeon surprisingly announced her resignation from government and party leadership in February. The 52-year-old is considered a driving force behind supporters of independence from the United Kingdom. Gender equality is also an important topic in her political work.