I was told I was unworthy to be a mother, then they stole my baby
Summary
Marion McMillan was a 17-year-old pregnant woman sent to a maternity home in England in 1966, where after nine months she was forced to give up her baby for adoption. This story is part of a larger history involving around 250,000 women in the UK who were pressured by the state and organizations to surrender their babies between 1949 and 1976.Key Facts
- Marion McMillan was 17 and unmarried when she was sent from Scotland to a Salvation Army maternity home in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1966.
- She lived with her baby son for nine months before he was taken away for adoption by middle-class families.
- Many women like Marion were made to feel they were unworthy mothers and powerless to keep their babies.
- These adoptions were often forced by social workers, the state, and religious groups.
- About 250,000 women in the UK were affected by these practices between 1949 and 1976.
- The story highlights discrimination, such as Marion’s relationship with a man of Pakistani origin, which her family did not accept.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer formally apologized in July to the affected mothers, saying the shame belonged to society, not the women.
- Marion described harsh treatment in the maternity home, including physical abuse during childbirth and separation from her baby.
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