Tuesday 07 August, 2001
Kilshaw Baby Battle
Alan and Judith Kilshaw wanted a daughter so badly that they paid £8,200 to adopt American twins over the internet.
Later, when the Kilshaws went public with their story in January 2001, they talked about an internet baby broker, rival would-be parents and a cross-country car chase. It was a tale that seemed too bizarre to be true and when the international media descended to hear more, the Kilshaws soon became the most vilified couple in Britain.
Speaking to Outlook, the couple discuss their high media profile and how they are learning to live life in the spotlight.
Alan and Judith Kilshaw found themselves at the centre of very negative publicity when, towards the end of last year, they tried to adopt twin baby girls from America.
The British couple’s story began when they travelled to America to collect Belinda and Kimberley, identical twin babies that they had originally seen over the internet. However the Kilshaws had to quickly flee the United States following claims that the girls had already been "sold" to another family.
Their story soon became known as “the internet adoption scandal” and the British tabloids were filled with headlines such as “Help Us Buy A New Baby - Kilshaws Sick Cash Plea As They Shop For Another Child” and the story which particularly focused on Judith Kilshaw proclaiming that she was most “The Most Hated Woman In Britain”.
After months of bad press and court battles they eventually lost the babies, who are still being fought over in the American courts by their natural mother and their foster parents.
Baby Buying
The public criticism of the Kilshaws has in part been fuelled by their high media profile. The couple have been very open about their desire for children and have spoken “exclusively” to a tabloid newspaper, whilst appearing on American and UK television shows.
Their openness however badly backfired when the newspapers began to refer to the children’s adoption as “a tawdry baby-buying operation”.
In hindsight it hard to imagine why the couple initially invited the press into their lives, but as Alan Kilshaw explains they felt that they had to ‘go public’ in order to tell their side of the story.
‘Unfortunately The Sun newspaper, who we went to, didn’t print the story in the way that we wanted it to be dealt with. They used some very emotive words like “kidnapping” which clearly weren’t appropriate bearing in mind the actual facts that we told them.’
Having been portrayed by many newspapers as selfish and unsuitable parents, Judith Kilshaw explains how it felt to find their story splashed across the front pages of the newspapers:
‘[It was] Annoying, tiring and draining. But the press did treat the girls with decorum. They were courteous to the girls, they never over exposed the girls and the girls were kept well away from it. But me and Alan were thrown to the lions.’
Learning From Their Mistakes
Every aspect of the Kilshaw’s life was dragged through the press. Judith’s eldest daughter, who she has now disowned, claimed that the couple had asked her to act as a surrogate for them.
| 'Hungry journalists leapt on stories of the family home being haunted by pigmies and of black magic associations.' | |
And when Judith appeared at the high court wearing a tight top and a ‘foxy’ necklace, the press questioned their suitability as parents.
The couple do not deny that they have been very outspoken and that they have made mistakes, but they have also learnt a great deal from the experience as Alan Kilshaw explains:
‘We never expected any of this… when it suddenly happens overnight, all over the world; it is a very difficult thing to handle. We made a lot of mistakes which we admit quite freely and we’ve learnt a lot in a very short time and hopefully we would not make the same mistakes again, if the situation were to arise.’
Chat Show Career
Indeed the couple are once again courting public attention following claims that they intend to emigrate in order to adopt a child from overseas.
Judith Kilshaw has also hit the front pages again following her announcement that she would like to host a chat show talking to other victims of the press.
Perhaps this is a way of making something good out of a bizarre situation, but as Judith explains she is simply, ‘learning to live with things and managing it a lot better than I used to.’
And what of the babies? Although the future of the twins remains undecided, details of the High Court ruling as to why Alan and Judith were not allowed custody have recently appeared on a Family Law web site.
It claims that the couple lacked insight and empathy with the twins and their courting of media attention was to the detriment of the children.
The couple have defended their position by claiming that they were simply ‘standing up for their rights’ and as Judith Kilshaw explains, the battle for the babies could continue:
‘I think of them as my children. I think of them as Belinda and Kimberley, they are still part of my family and will remain part of my family… If I had the chance to fight for the girls again I would still go through it.’
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| Adoption Crack Down |
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In June 2001 the British government announced plans to crack down on the internet adoption of children as part of the Adoption and Children Bill.
In the annual address to the Houses Of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth II outlined that:
‘A bill will be introduced to reform adoption law to make children's interests paramount, and tackle inter-country adoption.’ |
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