The Black Legend of the 'Stolen Babies' in Spain Refuted
Conducted by five forensic geneticists from the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (INTCF), the research was published in March.
What did the "narrative" claim?
The 'stolen babies' narrative, which gained widespread attention in the 2000s and 2010s, alleged that, during the Franco era and beyond (1950s–1990s), newborn babies were systematically taken from their parents in hospitals. Mothers were told their babies had died, while the children were allegedly given to other, regime-loyal families - sometimes for money.
The narrative described a coordinated network involving medical staff, hospital administrators and religious institutions, including Catholic institutions.
Advocacy groups and reports have claimed that up to 300,000 babies were stolen.
The first religious figure to be formally investigated was Sister María Gómez Valbuena of the Daughters of St. Vincent. She worked with vulnerable, poor mothers in Madrid and died in 2013 at the age of 88.
Findings of the Forensic Study
The study, reported by Spanish regime media including El País, found no forensic evidence of an organised network of baby theft.
The study was based on DNA testing and exhumation. Of the 120 suspicious graves analysed, 117 contained human remains. The remaining three cases showed biological traces consistent with decomposition.
The study concludes that the babies in the investigated cases had in fact died.
Both the study and the reporting emphasise that different phenomena were merged into one narrative: child separations after the Spanish Civil War and irregular adoption practices.
Furthermore, Spanish prosecutors reviewed over 2,000 complaints, with more than 500 cases reaching court. However, no ruling has confirmed the existence of a baby theft network.
The widely cited figure of 300,000 stolen babies is now described as a 'conjecture turned into a hoax'.
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