'Spain's Stolen Babies': New BBC Documentary Explores Fifty-Year Baby Trafficking Scandal

From as early as 1940 to as late as 1990, thousands of mothers in Spain were told just after they had given birth that their newborns had died.

Many of the babies in fact hadn't died, according to a new documentary from the BBC, but were instead taken by doctors, nurses and priests to be given or sold to other families.

Time Magazine reported earlier this year that court documents filed in Spain claim that some babies were sold for about $8,000 each, and that the doctors and nurses who delivered the babies were sometimes the ones who sold them to other families.

Now, "Spain's Stolen Babies," a documentary by BBC journalist Katya Adler that airs on Tuesday, examines the scandal more closely.

"There are men and women across Spain whose lives have been turned upside-down by discovering the people they thought were their parents actually bought them for cash," said Adler, according to The Daily Mail. "There are also many mothers who have maintained for years that their babies did not die -– and were labelled “hysterical” –- but are now discovering that their child has probably been alive and brought up by somebody else all this time."

The Daily Mail reports that as many as 300,000 babies could have been stolen over fifty years.

The BBC reports that Anadir, an 800-member strong support group, has created a DNA database to help reunite children with their birth parents.

Watch the video at the top for more.

Comments

[huffnpuff2]

07:27 AM on 10/24/2011

"The Spanish case is shocking: but we cruelly remove children from ‘undesirable’ families too"

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2011/10/19/the-spanish-case-is-shocking-but-we-cruelly-remove-children-from-%E2%80%98undesirable%E2%80%99-families-too/

[huffnpuff2]

07:31 AM on 10/24/2011

Sorry. Here is the correct link to that Catholic Herald.co.uk article "The Spanish case is shocking: but we cruelly remove children from ‘undesirab­le’ families too" (if not, google it)

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2011/10/19/the-spanish-case-is-shocking-but-we-cruelly-remove-children-from-%E2%80%98undesirable%E2%80%99-families-too/

[617patrick]

03:32 PM on 10/20/2011

Catholic priests - if they're not raping children, they're selling them.

[the crustybastard]

08:15 PM on 10/18/2011

Not excusing the medical personnel here, but PRIESTS?

Again? Seriously?

[OliveandOaks]

11:46 AM on 10/18/2011

I would love to know if any reporter has contacted the Vatican for a statement regarding this, since the catholic church seems to have been heavily involved as well. The scandals do not stop and hearing this only confirms my disillusion with the catholic church.

My heart goes out to the families affected and it baffles me that the Spanish Government is not trying its utmost to assist these familes. That it itself is an outrage!

[KIVPossum]

05:39 AM on 10/17/2011

Terrible. Know it's hard to think your child died at birth, but to know it lived and never see it would be too much

[OliveandOaks]

11:49 AM on 10/18/2011

It is even worse. Some people think it happened to them and they opened graves only to find nothing but rubble, or adult bodies or even the body of a child that after DNA analysis was not only the wrong gender but not even related to them.

It makes me so angry for the people involved, especially since the Spanish Government doesn't seem to want to help! And to think this went on until the 90's.

I cannot even imagine the anguish of the parents who do not even know if their child still lives, is happy, ... it must be the worst kind of hell!