Senate inquiry into forced adoptions found barbaric, horrific abuses

Now that Parliament has apologised, please post your comments at http://www.indymedia.org.au/2013/03/22/the-prime-minister%E2%80%99s-apol... to make them more easily accessible

A senate committee has recommended the federal government formally apologise for past forced adoption practices described as barbaric and a "horror of our history".

After 18 months of taking evidence, with hundreds of submissions and speaking to dozens of witnesses, the Greens, Labor and Coalition senators handed down a unanimous report in February, declaring it has been a heartbreaking inquiry.

Hundreds of women who gave birth to thousands of children from the 1950s until 1980 gave harrowing evidence to the committee, with tens of thousands of children believed to have been adopted against their parents' will.

The committee has published a full report including the accounts of how the mostly teenage birth mothers had their babies forcibly removed by agencies or churches, and in some cases believed they had been stolen.

The inquiry says all state and territory governments and all non-government organisations which administer adoptions should also apologise.

The South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill will make a formal apology to people affected on July 18.

This IndyMedia site has been a platform for this story since March 2011, when the Senate inquiry was taking submissions. It’s attracted hundreds of comments and been called up around 9,000 times.

The original posting of 11 March 2011 follows below:

The Australian 'Senate Inquiry into Forced Adoptions' is accepting submissions from all people's affected or impacted by coerced past human adoption practices which tore natural families apart.

The Inquiry's submissions close soon and any one who would like to voice their stories may do so until closing date which is very soon: March 2011. It may be extended again, yet at this time we do not know.

The process has begun yet too few know about this.

Why?

This topical social issue has not been given the media to enable many to know it is happening, and get involved in ways they can, yet it is and over due.

The timeframe of this human social issue which the 'Senate Community Affairs Committee' are seeking submissions for, in context of 'Forced Infant Adoptions' (which was widespread, with very unusual maternity hospital practices, inhuman, punitive and massively covered-up negative practices, bias and behavious from maternity health authorities and their affiliates toward natural mothers, fathers and their infants) is between 1940's to 1980's in Australia.

This is an important Australian social issue which has not been raised properly to dissmeninate truths rather than myths about many past adoptions.

Public awareness of truth of too many forced adoptions in this time frame is also over due.

More voices raised and submissions, more public awareness about this social issue will begin to acknowledge the immense and many thousands of llives affected, the wrongs, and look at the systems which allowed these to occur and which with awareness will not allow this kind of history to happen again.

See: Senate Inquiry into Forced Adoptions for information about how and where to make your submissions and also allow people you know awareness this 'Senate Inquiry' is happening.

If you would like to saubmit a comment or sign the petition for the Senate Inquiry there is a link on a site: Origins Inc NSW which enables you to do so.

We will all get by with awareness, humanity and asserting now some peace with justice for these innocent people whose families and selves were broken [in context] who were spoken down too, devalued, dismissed, punitively treated in inhumane manner, and not allowed any voices whilst many in power turned a blind eye to barbaric suffering of very vulnerable young unwed mothers, fathers and their natural infants.

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Comments

Adoption, though originally meant to be for orphans became a service for infertile couples circa 1940s - 1980s, due to an infertility epidemic post WWII in Australia as well as a population decline, driven by a fear of socialism within the context of a patriarchal system. This fear was driven mainly by spinsters, though both federal and state governments colluded with their own agendas.

The fathers names were not on the birth certificates the fathers were therefore assumed to non-exist?

The mothers were given what the far right christian punitive lobby gives: unwed therefore also non existing.

Only the adoptive parents and the babies were given any human rights and at a period in history not so long ago.

outrageous.

The world does need understanding and it does need compassion but there are those who have no ability to tap into these.

This Inquiry is a just inquiry yet there are people who are negative to others such as Family Voice (think Fred Nile and Peter Madden) who lack any respect for any mother, father or infant unless they were and are one kind of family only.

The Inquiry has accepted at least one negative submission from just such a group and their negativity would whitewash if they has their way all understanding and compassion.
They have none and spread their social exclusion not only toward single mums, dads or any who are not their rigid tunnel visioned confined mindset selves.

I fully support the Senate Inquiry.
More so I morally and ethically support the single unwed mums, dads and their birthed infants. What what done was wrong.
Don't let the negative people hurt you as they will be there amongst you in this and yet they are sadly not able to understand or have compassion.

I agree with this Indymedia article, 'this is an important [contemporary + past] social issue'

Margaret McDonald Lawrence (phsychologist and educator) has done in depth research study in this field.
We hear much noise about there being little research when there's lots it's just not shown to the public for some of the reasons found in writings Margaret McDonald Lawrence and her colleagues have produced.
It will be.

Stilboestral/Des imposed for de-lactating the young unmarried mothers; a known carcinogenic. More drugs forced on these young ones. Insanity.

Research further: We recommend Merryl Moor also [Griffith University 2006]
There are other researchers who have looked at this and worth reading if anyone is interested on that level.
The pioneers have a lot of factual material in this field.

Good luck to all who have previously been disenfrachised, defamed and denied their natural families because of what amounts to something I can't understand, yet it's the officials problems, not the people who were victimised more than brutally.

Absolute support and encouragement to all the natural mums, dads and infants in this Inquiry.

My colleagues and I have noticed a Catholic College academic named Shirley Swain is "investigating and researching stories and history of adoptions in Australia".
It's not half obvious why she was chosen by the Aussie institute: George Pel is her boss - the higher voice and he's antti-abortion therefore has no qualms nor misgivings about all of you who have lost your loved family connections via adoption.

This "expert" has been planted deliberately and my colleagues and I find this too political and too extreme.

Where's the balance in this 'Senate Inquiry' and all the personnel being employed to "investugate" it's muti-facteed dimensions, which exclude any religious stereotyping or nonsense, even as the church is exempt from "discrimination" it is clear where Swain gets her paycheck from, whilst the duffering continues.

This needs to go to a Royal Commission it's being played out in most flagrantly yet again oppressive of natural mums in particular the then vulnerable gils and women.

(Is this abusive kind of adoptions happening again as this is written?)

When does the "balance" happen, when does the gamut of mainstream media address this with compassion understanding dignity and levelling for the real families.
Peace with justice no more breaking up families in the name of anyone who lives (what kind of life is that?) to have power over others rather than power over themselves.

Thanks for this air time and we're all behind you original families.
Lawrence
and family

I have to agree with you Lawrence in some aspects. After watching Four Corners last night, and hearing her comments, it's as if the darkness of the Melbourne Archdiocese never existed.
Cardinal Pell, as Archbishop would have been fully aware of the facility established at St Vincents Private Hospital many years ago, in place for women "in situations created by clergy" who were unable to maintain their vows of celibacy.
This facility was still being utilized by Archbishop Little and his administrator, now Bishop, Peter Connors of the notorious Ballarat Diocese where dozens of sex-abuse related suicides have been recorded.
Where did all these newborns go, what chance do they have of ever finding their mother's, let alone clergy fathers.

Hear hear I agree with Lawrence:
This woman historian Shirley Swain is from the Catholic Academia and she'll compile opinions that have the financial back as well as the political sway.

The right "historian" academic positioned investigating and interviewing sufferers any people within adoptions (not excluding the relevance of her "Investigations" to do with "Senate Inquiry into Forced Adoptions" should be neutral and balanced and preferably have own insights into loss of a loved and wanted infant.

This is very telling and a reflection of the Government and Church wanting their rigid control

Hear hear Lawrence: You raised what the public may already know yet good on you for articulating this.

Paul

The public are aware of the era and what else was happening at the time (Vietnam War etc. etc) Its the state and federal governments who scapegoated in that recent past. The collective who are empowered are the individual artists with social consciences, group compainers, people from many walks of life who have been are collectively looking at this. The peoples voice is heard by the public who are sick and tired of any Prime Minister who says in reaction to any woman who was affected "It was yesterday". It was is also today as the cruel and divisive causes and affects have no time line

Kindest regards to the natural families who have my total support

The public are aware of the era and what else was happening at the time (Vietnam War etc. etc) Its the state and federal governments who scapegoated in that recent past. The collective who are empowered are the individual artists with social consciences, group compainers, people from many walks of life who have been are collectively looking at this. The peoples voice is heard by the public who are sick and tired of any Prime Minister who says in reaction to any woman who was affected "It was yesterday". It was is also today as the cruel and divisive causes and affects have no time line

Kindest regards to the natural families who have my total support

I ommitted to write: The churchs have a lot to answer for. We know there is good there in some parishioners, but most externaliose their feelings and demonise today as they did yesterday the unmarried mother.

They do not demonise the infant or the adoptiove parents. These people are "respectable" and of their clan despite the fact it takes ripping an infant from his or her mother to "legalise" this "family"
This is where the Nile and Madden's go off track.
One of many areas where they have an unfortunate and notoriously known lack of christian compassion and humanity. It's laughable except that they are so dangerous.
The churchs and the states are the subject of scrutiny here and that can't be turned back.
Advance Australia Fair, it can;t advance anywhere if a country separates babies from mothers because of doctrines that are now not working.

All the best to the natural mothers fathers and children. Ultimately nothing can separate flesh and blood bonds no matter who would try to scapegoat the vulnerable.

Ted

Just wanted to add two things. First, this was widespead thru many nations, all of which are/were predominantly Christian/Catholic. My mother was forced to sign papers under duress by Catholic Charities Houston, TX, USA. Second, no one demonizes the baby if and only if, that child is perfectly behaved. What child is? All children can be trying at times. An adopted child runs the risk of being dimissed as having bad genes, being a 'crackbaby' or having fetal alcohol syndrome. There is no way to leave the demonized's offspring out of the equation. By condemning my mother, it is incinuated that my grandparents did something wrong, I am somehow inferior, and in this line of logic, my whole bloodline is condemned through generations. Redemption can only come through apology and retributions from both church AND state. There was no separation of the two as it pertained to this atrocity. It was the same time as the US government put the Christian god on the currency, and in the pledge of allegiance. During this timeframe, the state allowed the church to run the state, and this was the kind of mess our founding fathers were trying to avoid.

The Salvation Army are a cult or church who had a lot of chaos and abuse in their establishments for unmarried young mums and their babies.

This organisation has a credo which reads from an era that doesn't exist any more if ever. They have defrauded the government with a Job Network program as well as with these hospitals for differing mums from all different kinds of families, rich poor, well known not known and all the mums and babies were and are humans not products to buy and exchange or play god with.

The Senate Inquiry will not look at the names of people or the names or these establishments however the public are looking at them and the pulse reads 'Stop, No. Bullies beware' no more drugging up young girls and women getting their signatures for some couple who want immediate gratification via the mums intolerable suffering.

Bush in USA religious zealot who sent innocents to harm innocents in unwanted by the people. War whereby Australia followed suit to Australias embarassment and shame it continues.
When does Australia let go of that deadly relationship with USA Australia having an 'adoptive if you like' alignment on too much not excluding adoptions and people trafficking.
Regarding the families torn up and destabilised because of forced adoptions in baby scoop era too many are now aware and once aware cant turn back to ignorance in the pub;ic sphere.
The mainstream media are quiet but whats so unusual about that they are same same every one and all for whatever their told to do and write with few exceptions.

Main point I too support and unite to take a stand if need be against demonising unmarried mothers and their babies and upholding them as human loving peoples who are now owed apolgies from all states USA or Australia
Sincerely
Grant

i was in a salvation army elim for unmaarried mothers in tasmania

i have got a adoption concent form giving consent to adopt my baby but it is typed out and the signiture is typed so i did not sign it and i can tell you how bad it was there

What about all the Catholic Homes for unwed Natural Mothers. ? The way we were treated was shamefull,also the hospitals where we delivered OUR Babies, we were shown so compassion, only to take OUR Babies, and have us sign papers when we were underage. No they didn't want to know the fathers name ,for that would have been more red tape for them to go though ?
All I can say now is I hope this is a fair inquiry ,to the injustices that we have had to live with for many years that were done to us, not only by the Churches, Homes, BUT THE GOVERNMENT> LET IT BE KNOWN WE ARE STILL SUFFERING & WILL FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES. SHAME

So long as you've got the bullies in government, and even if not at front row you've got big matters to deal with.
Take Abbott .. We knew him at uni and he took over the H.S. magazine at uni and he tried to get rid of the uni union and he was a thug then and still is.

The good thing is the new government don't have him sitting next to them.
He belongs to the kind of people who did these wrongs to the innocent mums, dads and infants of 'forced adoptions' and to the brigade of thugs who pretend it's all for the 'good of the nation'.
When does this breed move out and graze with their peers who have been exposed as the thugs and bullies they are very soon it would appear.

Bit off the mark but remember Tony Abbott is on the side of the bullies and thugs just as some churchs were.
Governments are for the people by the people and not for the thugs by the thugs.
This whole forced adoption issue raises a lot of other issues about abuse of power by thugs and bullies and not least the oppositions prime and well-known uni thug who never changed Tony
Hes got lots of sekeltons in his closet and maybe his computer is being hacked as we write this?

Please take your political rubbish and post somewhere else. Tony Abbot has a huge stake in this as a man who payed maintenance for a child that was not even is- in fact he did the honorable thing which from this adoptees perspective has not been done by many others involved in the adoption process. Please dont lie or tell tall tales, my guess is you never even went to uni let alone knew the man personally. Just another hijacker. The other side is a childless woman who put money and career way in front of having children and who would have no understanding at all of the adoption situation. If you want to rant about Tony Abbot go and find a political blog - dont offend us all by trying to hijack an adoptee forum for your redneck views.

Macklin is Abbott equivalent on the other side and all the top echolan (figuratively) are with slush funds from rampant and horrific abuse of vulnerable.
If you mention Abbott then Macklins advisors & the other side have equals = bullies.
Yesterday when Forced adoptions happened its the same dynamics take from the vulnerable whilst slush funds amass for the miners the gungho greedy and thos who are out of touch with any visceral world.
Shame shame shame

During the Baby Scoop Era one prominent fact is evident
Secrecy about the oppression of the victims (Real moms, babies and dads available)
I know "Real" is debatable as Brecht and other playwrights have shown.
What I found looking at this kind of oppression follows & I paraphrase
"Maneuvers to blame victims of oppression are time-worn efforts to both rationalise an unjust social order and to assuage guilty consciences.." (latter of the initiators, maintainers who are the beneficiaries of the oppressed misfortunes.)
Forced adoption victrims are not asking too much to gain due care finally.
The Australian government cant keep oppressing so many (as during the baby scoop era) for the benefits of so few.
So long as systems & actions such as forced adoptions are unchallenged and not addressed at source "social order systems to suppress and oppress" then history could possibly be repeating itself or will.
This means changing systems changing social orders so oppression is what it is WRONG and GONE.
We're not alive to harm vulnerable & if the powers that be are so callous to regard any single action of this is ok shame on them & the public are watching them as they are surveillancing the people.
The obnly reason there were (and still are) secrets surrounding forced adoptions is because there is massive guilt from the beneficiaries and rightly so.
Who could imagine "Madame Butterfly" was and still is in some quarters "For Real" Too sad. Needs attention above and beyond a Senate Inquiry in Australia.
J.J.

I fully stand behind a Senate Inquiry into forced adoptions.
Ive found too many for this to be something other than from mal-administration to begin with and beyond brutal as one reads the submissions.
The babies adopted for purposes other than loving arms caring raising and protection we find abominable abuse from some adoptive parents.
The mothers undergoing trauma years down the track and because no one has until now even considered their stories except for the few.
The fathers missing from birth certificates. No counselling whatsoever ever offered the natural mums and no structures to hurture her and her baby why not.
Des or Stilboestral given to the mothers who lost babies to forced adoptions was also forced upon them don't they dare try to claim they didnt have the research, it's a carcineogenic and was a known one.
Unable to say anything further except I stand by as do our collectives my friend who has suffered and mercilessly at the hands of the religious extreme right and their atrocious disregard for laws, basic decency and for humanity.
Thanks to Indymedia for putting the truths out there.

This sounds terribly like what they have done/are doing to the Aboriginals in the Northern Territory.
Look at the similarities and it's fightening because the demoralising & stereotyping its all there too with the Forced infant adoptions.
The bias and bigotry and the inability to be human enough to care.
We have more rapes of young children in Vaucluse than up there in NT.
A government has yet again scapegoated in the Forced adoptions, and so it does in N.T.
This affects every Australian ultimately.
Outrageous and more so cause the Gillard government appear to suggest Macklins monarchy would be believable trusted and humane governance.
Oppression suppression absolute repression as well as all for (instead of humanly against) undermining some vulnerable peoples for the human (in this case) benefits of others.
I'm appalled at the truths here.
Justice and decent human rights to the victims of forced adoptions. Laws need to update their ethics and professional standards for all Australians decent lives.

And the Prime Minister is doing this all over again.
She has shot herself in the leg the hardened barren woman.
See news media about adolescent mothers who are making an effort to hold their own.

Parents of children who were adopted need to be given the knowledge/tools to be able to begin the search for the child that was taken away. It may be possible for the child and the mother/father to share aspects of their lives together

In 1999 I submitted my doctoral thesis, "Relinquishment and Abjection" available from http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/aja/rt/suppFiles/1179/0

This contains historical information about adoption practices as well as transcripts of interviews with midwives who participated in the practice and mothers who lost their babies to adoption.

If you intend to use my material, please acknowledge your source correctly:

Farrar, PD (1999) Relinquishment and abjection: A semanalysis of the meaning of losing a baby to adoption. University of Technology, Sydney. Unpublished doctoral thesis.

Just submit it yourself if you think it'll be of value and out of courtesy language is important - yours was a little pompous to people you may have been so concerned about to research and write about. Some of the Editors on this site are PhDs and Masters and all that and I know one of them has been asked many times for his research to senate inquiries and he says 'no worries' and never cares whether he is acknowledged as the source properly - he just writes for the purpose of doing some good - and stuck it a little back to academia with their high and mighty acknowlegments and references somewhat (but was hassled for it)...

If it's of value your work you know, so it's up to you to submit it or not really...

Fairs fair tho evan. PhD is a hell of a slog, for a few letters, so its fair courtesy when referencing a thesis to acknowledge the author. Some folks are cool with not being acknowledged, but its not fair to assume all are. After all we're talking the better half of a decade of someones life that goes into these things.sAC

Patricia Farrer if you didn't lose a baby to forced adoption don't know someone who has or the people who were subject to that unhumanity and support them today, not when you wrote your dicitation or whatever leave your ego at campus.
This is about facts and views for people who were cruelly swept under carpets whilst others went about their business blind to the injustices imposed by many.
If you want to share you findings go right ahead. Every submission to the Senate Inquiry counts.

Support is way overdue for the individuals in the families who have suffered what most people could not possibly imagine or comprehend without indepth experience and knowing.
The baby scoop happened because people acted with 'vengeance' toward the unmarried mums.
That's way out of line.
Government's religious organisations and hospitals or health care facilities (as many including not least Julian Assange have shown) now have no choice but to be accountable yes also for past ommissions or errors which cost people their sanity, happiness lives or health.
I've heard of too many suicides from this eperience and too many who have lived half lives because of having to comply with what no one should have ever asked them to comply with.
More than a apology I recommend with sincere goodwill to all.

I verify what John Perry has written as comment as it's truth.
This present government is as Andrew Wilkie correctly states or in other words with a prime minister who has lost her moral superiority. Did she have this before?
However she is not the one deciding what assistance the victims of forced adoptions are going to be compensed with.
Yet under her leadership there may be strong pulls to sweep these events of recent history to less attention than what they deserve
We don't want another liberal government, and we don;t want any more 'forced adoptions' or endless abuses, lies and cover ups of wrongs committed past or today.
Thanks John

The Senate Inquiry into Forced Adoptions is looking at a time span when young women and girls were treated as generic cattle, and abusively.
They suffer today as they did when all the lies, betrayals and cover-ups happened.
Isn't it ironic the prime minister Julia Gillard is swift to address the unjustly treated livestock overseas yet is not mentioning a word about this Senate Inquiry.
Isn't it ironic the same prime minister is abo0ut to throw many people into a system of 'cattle abuse' called Skills Australia similar to all the previous networks and skills-dumb-downings at often religious companies staffing unemployed for no other right reason than there is no work available and they have skills, often many.
This Senate inquiry raises a lot of questions and there's no turn around for anyone to say "This didn't happen" "You weren't treated as cattle" when people were and were maimed and shamed in the process.
The pm doesn't care. It's yesterday, over with. Not for the victims of the most inhumane abuse and torture.
The pm has shaken the hands of Obama, bless her mothers soul. Her mother used to work for the Salvos, one of the culprits who silently stood by whilst girls and women lost their babies under excruciatingly paindul circumstances.
Isn't it ironic the pm stabbed Rudd in the back and thinks she is now a part of the ruling elite?
Isn;t it ironic the people stood by as the authorities stabbed innocent girls/women in the backs and took off with their babies?
It's question time big question time and the pm needs to answer her emails (she doesn't by the way unless they have certain prsetige attachyed return addresses)
Above and below, she who knows nought of equality has retrieved the livestock from cruelty and yet people don;pt mean so much to her. Isn't that ironic?

Jules

I attended IQ2 with my husband and heard the two sides debate 'Wikileaks is a force for good'.
The thing about the whole debate program was this:
everyone, with few exceptions (and these were on the losing 'political and Lowy institute side) admitted how Australian people are sick and tired of governments thinking they have all say without the people's input.
This senate inquiry has experts and they are those who have lost to forecd adoptions or have also been dealt harsh cards because of givernments mis-judegments or cover-ups and lies.

Best
Lisa

I've just found out more and more facts about the baby scoop era and am horrified this all happened in Australia.
I'm glad people the Senate are finally retrieving the truths long hidden about the churchs roles, the Benevolent soc. roles, the state governments very large roles and the commonwealth governments roles.
To let this pass so long, not see until now the insensitivity, lack of empathy and human support for too many thousands of young terrified and frightened (as bullied) girls and their babies makes me shudder with shame for a country I thought then and now waved a flag of being 'fair'. That flag is not reality, I have now learnt, sadly. I'm too young to know of this kind of horror in Australia, anywhere.
The victims of forced adoptions were not given fair or even general basic human treatment, some were starved of foods for upto two weeks prior to birth, some did laundry and unpaid whilst pregnant, all were stigmatised and intolerably abused.
Where's the sense of justice in this, and a whole lot of other equally horrific and serious social issues in Australia, yesterday and today.
My heart goes out to the birth mums and the babies they lost and I pray for healing as well as compensation.
Jemma

The politician in WE gave an apology to all of the vitims of forced adptions and stated a few correct and truthfac facts.
There were many thousands of Australins affected by forced adotpions and Hames suggests to WE at least an apology is all the people made powerless and treated basely deserve, plus memorial.
I am shocked the minister wants a memorial, how would he make it, in the likeness of a war memorial beacsue is true this way, the advantaged benefitted from the unsupported or with less, moentary or otherwise.
A war memorial and a forced adoption memorial absolutely Kim, you're right on: there was a war on depressed and the have-nots at the time of the forced or coerced adooptions.
Place the politicians or today and yesterday on that memorial also, as you have little regard for the suffering of people not with any benefits for yourselves.
It was a good apology, but needs to be further acknowledged for anyone to trust it's genuineness.
Politicaians in Australia you sadden too many.
But you keep treading on the down trodden as you're too afraid to tread on those who are pulling your strings.
Abominable.
Best for the sufferers as you will gain justice, I just know it.
It never had to be that way.
The Commonwealth gov. are doing the same things slightly different ways today, their problems, and their pensions should be dedducted for every harm they do to any Australian citizen

Dan C.

Dan C absolutely right.
Further the politicians should now have their huge and out of control pensions slashed for having the criminality of taking from people who had no supports.They need to know they are being paid for by the Australians as myself and my family who are taxed whether by GST or ATO.
The politicians also need to move it right along and go further as you say Dan than apologise.
Look what happens when they say sorry, it's like the alcoholic who keeps saying it over and over whilst kicking those down.
There's no middle anymore.
It's been taken to keep the politicians in their jobs with benefits and huge pensions and of course the multi nationals who don't care about people except 'me'.
The 'me' of the world were not the selfless mums who lost their needing and wanting their family babies.
This Forced Adoption site that I've been shown disgust me as does the governments apathetic response to date on all forced adoptions.

The government in power then and also now want power that is over people as in dominating.
This kind of power is corrupt, repressive and oppressive and more fool the politicians for thinking the people will not outrage at this atrocious forced adoptions past and present oppressions of very vulnerable.
Shameless and I feel shame reading about all this as if it were from some country in a third world.
Right the wrongs and stop trying to uphold your own 'reputations' politicians or the people will stand up and be counted where you'll know it.
Jemma

The people involved in this barabaric practice which left me with other than my own mother stand to be condemned. but equally condemned must be my mothers parernts and the many other parents who for whatever reason, put the well being of their daughters and grandchildren at risk. And finally ina democratic society, authorities only get away with what that society aloows them. so ultimately the australian people must also share their cupability which at best woud be classified as being negligent by reason of apathy

It was not only unwed mothers but married new immigrants to this country that could not speak the language properly, forced to sign documents they did not understand and have their healthy baby ripped away from them, to be lied to and told that the baby had died.

Some immigrants were lucky to have interpreters and refused to sign such documents.

there is so much more evil that is yet to be uncovered, God help the perpetrators.

I write in support of Patricia Farrar whose seminal work on relinquishment did much to alert us all to the pain of unrequited loss the mothers suffer. Patricia speaks from experience, from her heart and from her head. Thank you Patricia

As a first mum I'm outraged at what was done to these women and children
As an accountant I am equally outraged at what was done.
As a first mum I look after and raise my children and maintain home.
As an accountant (presently out of work and not by choice) I am directed to look at the 3 P's: People, Planet and Profit.
This was all about the latter only, disgraceful and outrageous.
The Gillard government and oppostion are doing the same with disadvantaged, unemployed (where's the work?), disabled by trying to run amok with another profiteering scheme: Skills Australia. They started with the orogonal people and now they are putting the screws on those with less.
This is another outrageous, and well observed horror of a self posited prime minister and her government.
R.R.

I agree with you R.R. and fully support compensation and a just apology not flippant as done with indigenous people's, and they are our equals.
Good work R.R. I've never met an accountant I can agree with until now.
Bec Jones

Already commented and thank you for air play Indymedia
Bec Jones
Hey, this is a topical and serious social matter good on you for being part of the communications media/news media.

Muzz's comment is really good. Many of them have been informative and not right or left, principled, fair, just.
I am totally with Muzza, however, the people or public are swayed by media and commonwealth as well as state government outage in news.
The people are not only swayed by we've had/have distorted, mis-informed information thrust on us.
We acknowledge the tragedies of forced adoptions and fully support the senate inquiry into forced adoptions.
j.davis and family

Guilt mongering is one of the most insidious abuses that happened to the unwed mums.
It wasn't right. Victim blamers are shameless and malicious or vindictive, and these people need to now admit their real guilt destroying young mums and their babies lives by numbers I find mind boggling.
It was in the best interests of the society which condoned 'forced adoptions' to guilt monger the terribly frightened and abandoned natural mums.
I'm all for Parliamentary Inquiry into the very many forced adoptions, law looking at this, and higher law.
Regards
Tom B

The Senate Inquiry into Forced Adoptions.
Who chose the Senate Committee staff who are at this time asking questions of
witnesses?
Exactly who and why how they so chose?
One at least has an overt conflict of interest her name is Senator Rachel Adams (Liberal) who was a midwife at hospitals where the forced adoptions were part and parcel of her duties.
She just couldn't see the torture could she?
Shame Shame Shame
The Commonwealth Government have done it all over again.
Yours Truly
K.B.

Spot on K.B.
It's noted and on Hansard now
Ha, the last laugh on whoever did this.

This is the second site which has mentioned what K.B. has and it's true.
The Senate Inquiry Committee should not have this woman talking down too the people who were forced to lose babies to adoption making big time politics and placing her role then (and now) as how it should be.
This is hideous and I agree with Anon and K.B.
I also ask and will find out
WHO CHOSE (chooses) THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON SENATE INQUIRY INTO FORCED ADOPTIONS (OR ANY SENATE INQUIRY)?
Jenny

While I pay large taxes to pay the Australian government politicians wages I expect them tp look at the Senate Inquiry into Forced Adoptions seriously.
To date they are according to Hansard, playing dominance over the targets of past and possibly present abuse.
I pay my taxes so there is clean and honest, open and accountable governments, not twisted. distorted agres with blood on their hands.

Best wishes to Indymedia
You've got some good reading here.
Compassion is not a dirty word, except in government/politics/parliament it appears.
Full and open support for the women and babies treated with contempt and now deserving
justice and remedies, non generic.
David Hill

While I pay large taxes to pay the Australian government politicians wages I expect them tp look at the Senate Inquiry into Forced Adoptions seriously.
To date they are according to Hansard, playing dominance over the targets of past and possibly present abuse.
I pay my taxes so there is clean and honest, open and accountable governments, not twisted. distorted agres with blood on their hands.

Best wishes to Indymedia
You've got some good reading here.
Compassion is not a dirty word, except in government/politics/parliament it appears.
Full and open support for the women and babies treated with contempt and now deserving
justice and remedies, non generic.
David Hill

The Senate Inquiry had better look at the different people involved today as well as yesterday.
We're a couple from NSW who have a long time friend and a woman of substance and character who lost her first born to adoption.
We were at the 'benevolent' society (behind the scenes) when she tried to communicate her reunion needs and was talked to like an animal about to be destroyed once again.
The Benevolent Society of Australia have amassed riches in land and property (enough to home the homeless if they were really 'benevolent' and yet they are meant to be non for profit, go figure?
This company is the only known to us centre whereby people go to pay their fee to eventually have identifying info or reunions.
Why this company, their character is dubious.
They have a place called PARC and it's without any care for the original families, tragically.
When does this madness stop.
We're all for this inquiry yet only if it looks at regulating what has to date gone so unregulated in the real sense.
Policies mean nothing, it's all about what is actually practiced.
The State of NSW we know caused dire consequences to original families.
The Commonwealth are meant to regulate the states so this never ever happens again.
W're right beside our friend and right beside all the original families.
The kind of torture that occurred would not have happened except people turned a blind eye to manty thousands of these atrocities, not on Julia, not on.
Carol and Simon
NSW
Australia

We've just read the last comment as were directed to it by a man who lost his first mum to death recently amd who has suffered as an adoptee (all these words to describe people who were family).

It's true about the Benevolent Society, they tried it on with some elderly home at Bondi where we live.
They own Paddington areas over the top.
I'm also asking what Carol and Simon asked, this that I was taken too
That is who are regulating these so called '
charities' non for profit not. Families are still basic and there's enough for families without tug-o-wars like adoptions.

World Vision and their supposed nice policioes for foster kids abroad.
Take another look at World Vision.
They do some good and the rest is stuff I'd rather have never discovered.

Good on you Indy for keeping people posted about the senate inquiry into forced baby adoptions.
Good on the Greens for chairing the Enquiry.
Not so good you had that Adams woman but.

I've been following this blog because it is raising some family issues I have to study.
Funny thing about the last comment cause I know a coupe who fostered a child from abroad
That is they paid Costello's World Vision monies for an unseen and uncared for child overseas and when the payer (wife) asked the secretary at World Vision why her 'fostered child' of school age was not at school she got "And who are you to be asking".
Suffice to say they lost one of probably many clients to being power people thinking others are ordinary and their something above.
Same with this enquiry. The Hansard is filled with questioners who really have bad power issues as in need some counselling themselves.
I'm supportive of the people who were shamed and blamed when they merely fell pregnant and were part of a massi9ve cover up.
That's too sad and so so wrong in a democratic country or meant to be one.
Renee Thomson