Written by Marion Scott, Chief Reporter at Scotland’s national newspaper The Sunday Post, June 20, 2021.
Victims of forced adoption fear generations of their children will suffer because they have no way of knowing if they are at risk of genetic illness.
Experts say the government has a legal responsibility to prevent unnecessary suffering potentially affecting the 60,000 Scottish mothers and the children taken from them because they were not married from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Author Eileen Munro, 53, from Edinburgh, says her shattered childhood, and the effect forced adoption had, led to the death of her own son Craig at the age of 22. …
… continue reading the full paper on The Sunday Post.
Related Tweets
We have a duty to find a way to repair the damage that was done based simply on the moral judgment of the time, including developing a more transparent system that will allow easier access to medical records. https://t.co/0zcApoCOp9
— Miles Briggs MSP (@Miles4Lothian) June 20, 2021
Adoption UK in Scotland is calling for a formal apology to be made to all women who were historically forced into giving up their babies for adoption. Read our full statement here: https://t.co/32thJA8mBl
— AdoptionUK Scotland (@AUKScot) June 21, 2021
Moving #forcedadoption report on @BBCNews tonight. Sending best wishes to the women meeting the Scottish Government tomorrow.
Approx 60,000 women in Scotland had their babies taken from them. The campaign for a formal apology from @scotgov is gaining momentum. @NicolaSturgeon https://t.co/h0C1pYyuWY
— Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) June 23, 2021
"This was the last place I saw my son"
Tens of thousands of women in Scotland who were forced to give up their babies for adoption between the 1950s and 70s
want a formal apology from the governmenthttps://t.co/Tm5N8w0usg pic.twitter.com/nMTxb9UVir— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) June 24, 2021
A quarter of a million unmarried mothers made to give up their babies. Now they, and the children callously wrenched away, want justice. The cruel legacy of forced adoption
Don't believe for a minute this is not still happening today! https://t.co/HwA8HI1rL4— TaKenUK (@TaKenUK1) June 28, 2021
Reform Advocates fully supports the campaign for a Govt apology for historical forced adoption.
For these men, women and children, undoing their adoptions is a ‘missing human right’ https://t.co/Sgd2TfigKF
— Laura Baxter – ReformAdvocates (@ReformUKSociety) July 15, 2021
Why forced adoption needs an apology – Dr Gary Claptonhttps://t.co/zxBPgbd9aI
— TaKenUK (@TaKenUK1) July 25, 2021
A DES word, from Marion Scott, Investigative Journalist

I know many of those mums were given DES to suppress their breast milk and very little awareness has been raised on the effect this may have had on them and their future children.
I’m hoping to reach out to see if anyone is aware of this, and is willing to share info or an experience so we can shine a light on what was done to so many women and children, and the lasting effect.
My email is here and I’d very much like to hear from anyone if they can help give voice to this.
DES DiEthylStilbestrol Resources
- DES studies (listed by topics and dates).
- DES videos playlist on our YT channel.