SPAIN'S STOLEN BABIES SCANDAL
Spain, which had been undergoing political liberalization after World War I, needed international recognition for the fascist regime of Generalissimo Franco which had come to power following a brutal civil war which ended in 1939 defeating and replacing all forms of political liberalization and democracy. He turned to the Catholic church to find that recognition, which he rightly believed would then influence some in the international community. Their price for recognition being establishing the Catholic church as the only recognized state religion, and giving the church additional rights and powers over educational policy, hospitals, orphanages, welfare and other areas of society.
In particular, the church was given the authority of hospitals and especially maternity hospitals. In collusion with the state, the Catholic church entered a conspiracy of unbelievably inhuman practice of deceiving parents considered to be not "politically or religiously suitable", such as liberally minded people, unmarried mothers, artists, atheists, humanists, social reformers, political activists etc., that their children had died shortly after childbirth. When parents asked to see the dead child they were told that this was not possible for various reasons. When insisted upon by stronger willed parents, a baby that had really died was produced from the mortuary and briefly shown to the parent/s.
False death certificates were then provided by the doctors and nuns, even empty coffins were sometimes interred. The real babies however were then moved from the hospital and offered to "worthy parents" for adoption. I.e., parents of acceptable political & religious views, who would raise and indoctrinate the children with right wing political views and traditional Catholic beliefs and traditions. This was done through private Catholic run clinics who stated that the babies were not wanted by unmarried mothers, or gave other reasons for the babies being available for adoption. The adoptive parents, both in Spain and abroad, were also the innocent victims of this crime.
This appalling situation lasted from the 1950's until the 1980's when it came to light through investigative journalism. In 2011 there was a massive Spanish government investigation in to this despicable crime and it is regularly covered on TV and in the Spanish and worldwide press Through DNA testing people are trying to discover their real parents / children.
To date, and known as the Spanish Stolen Babies Scandal, the Spanish government estimate is that up to 300,000 children were illegally declared dead, and then illegally adopted throughout Spain and abroad over approximately 40 years.
To claim this is an isolated situation peculiar to Spain's fascist political history is nonsense, similar events have taken place, with Catholic Priest and Nuns participation, in Chile and Argentina in exactly the same way, and for the same reasons, although on a lesser scale.
Charles
BBC 2 Video (1 hour) - Spain's Stolen Babies www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKTMm1qTUow
FRANCE 24 Video (11mins) - Spain's Stolen Babies Scandal Finally Goes To Trial www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK6mIwT7i2M
BBC NEWS ITEM - Spanish Authorities (Catholic Church & Ministry of Health) Agree To Open "Stolen Baby Archives"
www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-40033077