Spanish ‘stolen baby’ finds biological family through DNA

MADRID: The first woman recognised by Spanish courts as one of the “stolen babies” of the Franco dictatorship said Thursday she had found her biological family thanks to a DNA database.

Scores of babies were taken from their mothers — who were told their children had died — and given to others to adopt during General Francisco Franco’s 1939-1975 dictatorial rule, often with the help of the Catholic Church.

Initially, babies were taken from left-wing opponents of the regime, with the practice later expanded to supposedly illegitimate children and those from poor families. The newborns were meant to be raised by affluent, conservative and devout Roman Catholic families. Estimates range from hundreds to tens of thousands of victims. Ines Madrigal, 50, who found out in 2010, that she was a “stolen baby”, told a news conference that, thanks to a DNA database in the United States, she had been able to find a cousin. The cousin then informed her that her biological siblings were also searching for her.