Forced Adoption Survivor Seeks Apology

0:00On March 27, Vic Fielder, a 54-year-old veteran living in Somerset, is speaking out about her forced adoption back in 1971. Her unmarried 18-year-old mother desperately wanted to keep her, but had no choice under the pressures of the time. Like an estimated 250,000 other British women in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, she was coerced into giving up her. Baby, Fielder only learned the full story later through adoption files and a genealogy site. She discovered her mother took her own wife at age 38, directly tied to the loss of her daughter. Fielder also found out she has a sister living just 40 miles away, though she never met her parents. The trauma has lingered for survivors like Fielder, who waited four years for mental health treatment, linked to her adoption. She described repeating her story to doctors as deeply triggering and calls for better support, like fast-track care and notes on medical records. Earlier this week, the Education Select Committee urged the government to issue an unqualified formal apology and start working with survivor groups on a clear timeline.

1:06Fielder sees this as a vital first step toward healing the guilt and shame carried by both mothers and adoptees. Meanwhile, the government has expressed its deepest sympathies for this abhorrent practice and says it's actively considering an apology while, engaging with those affected to provide more support.