The Catholic Church continued to support forced adoptions of babies born to unmarried mothers at least into the 1980s, a period significantly later than previously understood, according to new revelations.

Forced adoptions were thought to have concluded by the 1970s, with the Adoption Act of 1976 intended to end the post-war scandal that saw an estimated 250,000 such adoptions up to that year. However, Julia Macklin, now 60, has shared her experience of being coerced into giving up her daughter, Siobhan, for adoption in 1983.

Macklin, who became pregnant at 15 in the summer of 1982, stated that her Catholic parents and their parish priest pressured her into the adoption through a Catholic charity. Her father, a teacher at a Catholic school in Manchester, was reportedly warned by the priest that his career advancement would be jeopardized if his daughter's status as an unmarried mother became known.

Macklin's account is believed to be the first public testimony from a mother forced into adoption in the 1980s. She was compelled to end her relationship with the baby's father, whom she had known since she was 14. Subsequently, she was taken to a Catholic-run mother and baby home in Manchester, where she observed numerous other young women being similarly pressured into relinquishing their children.

After months of parental and religious pressure, Macklin agreed to the adoption. She gave birth to Siobhan in March 1983 at St. Mary's Hospital in Manchester. She was not permitted to see the baby's father again, and Siobhan was placed with a married Catholic couple two weeks after her birth. Macklin was denied contact with her daughter by the Catholic Children's Rescue Society, a charity that later transferred its operations to Caritas Diocese of Salford.

Mother and daughter were reunited in 2001, after Siobhan turned 18 and gained legal access to her birth records. Macklin had made repeated attempts to find her daughter but faced consistent stonewalling from the charity. She is now seeking her adoption records from Salford City Council, believing they will confirm the coercion she experienced and help alleviate the stigma she feels.

Macklin and her daughter have participated in a BBC documentary, "Stolen Babies," highlighting these historical practices. Macklin expressed her ongoing pain and outrage, stating, "I still live with the stigma that I gave my baby up when I know I didn't - she was taken." She noted that her decision to speak out now is partly due to her parents no longer being alive.

Siobhan, a health and care manager, acknowledged the immense pressure her mother faced and expressed a belief that both she and her mother are owed an explanation for why forced adoptions continued into the 1980s.

In July, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer issued a formal apology to the 250,000 women in the UK who were forced or coerced into adoptions between 1949 and 1976. However, this apology did not explicitly include those, like Macklin, who experienced forced adoptions after the 1976 Act.

The Catholic Church issued an apology in 2016 for historical adoption practices, specifically addressing the hurt caused by agencies acting in its name. A spokesperson for Caritas Diocese of Salford stated, "We are deeply sorry to hear about Julia's experience and recognise the lasting pain that historic adoption practices may have caused for many people and their families."

Caritas Salford was not in operation during the period in question and could not comment on specific historical decisions. The charity closed its adoption support services in 2022.