Dutch Cabinet to Apologize for Past Forced Adoption Practices

Overview

• The justice state secretary informed Parliament that the government will give a formal apology to affected mothers and adoptees.
• The cabinet plans a public meeting before the summer where officials will deliver the apology and outline next steps.
• Officials said the apology carries no direct financial consequences, and a court ruled last year the state was not liable in a related case.
• From 1956 to 1984 an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 mostly unmarried women were pressured by family, churches and state-linked agencies to surrender newborns.
• An official inquiry found great sorrow, anger and often lifelong damage, and survivors describe traumatic births where they were prevented from seeing their babies.