Stolen at Birth: The Chilling Legacy of the Hicks Clinic Baby Trafficking Scandal
For nearly three decades, a small-town doctor in Georgia orchestrated one of the most sinister adoption schemes in American history—selling newborns as if they were mere commodities. Behind the unassuming facade of the Hicks Clinic in McCaysville, Georgia, Dr. Thomas “Doc” Hicks built a baby-trafficking empire, stealing infants from their birth mothers and handing them over to desperate couples for cash. Between the 1940s and 1960s, he is believed to have illegally sold as many as 200 babies, changing their identities forever and severing them from their biological families.
The Dark Business of Baby Selling
In the early 1950s, Hicks found a lucrative opportunity in illegal adoptions. At first, he lured young, unwed pregnant women from Georgia and Tennessee under the guise of providing abortion services. But soon, he convinced some to carry their pregnancies to term, promising to find loving homes for their babies. In some cases, he outright deceived mothers, telling them their newborns had died, only to sell them to waiting adoptive parents.
His transactions were seamless—no waiting periods, no legal red tape. Instead, adoptive parents would hand over anywhere from $100 to several thousand dollars in cash and walk away with a baby, their names already forged on falsified birth certificates. No records of the birth mothers were kept. The shocking truth only came to light in 1997 when the so-called “Hicks Babies” began uncovering their true origins.
The Search for Truth
Jane Blasio, one of those stolen at birth, learned at just six years old that she was adopted. By 14, she had seen her birth certificate—stamped with the Hicks Clinic name—and knew something wasn’t right. Fueled by a decades-long need for answers, she dedicated herself to uncovering the dark truth about Dr. Hicks’ baby trade.
Blasio’s dogged investigation led her to connect with other Hicks Babies, many of whom had spent their lives in the dark about their origins. She exposed the clinic’s operations and reunited families torn apart by the trafficking ring. But for many, the damage was irreparable—birth mothers had passed away, and biological connections were lost forever.
DNA Revelations and Heartbreaking Discoveries
Over the years, DNA testing has helped some Hicks Babies trace their lineage. Blasio herself believed she had found her birth mother, Kitty Self, a Georgia teenager forced to give up her baby in 1965. However, later DNA tests disproved the connection. Instead, the tests revealed her biological father—Herbert Claud Cruce—giving her an unexpected, bittersweet piece of the puzzle.
The power of DNA testing has since reunited hundreds of Hicks Babies with their birth families. But for many, the scars remain. “Some say Hicks was doing a service, giving babies to loving homes,” Blasio explains. “But in reality, he was profiting off human trafficking. He cared about the money, not the children.”
A Trail of Lies and Unanswered Questions
Dr. Hicks lost his medical license in 1964 for performing illegal abortions but never faced justice for his baby-trafficking operation. He died in 1972, taking many of his secrets with him. However, the lingering questions remain: Were there other doctors involved? Where are the missing records? And how many more Hicks Babies are still out there, unaware of the truth?
Blasio continues to work on unraveling these mysteries, determined to bring closure to as many victims as possible. “I can’t imagine my life without this mission,” she says. “Every uncovered truth is another piece of justice for those who never had a choice.”
Even today, the Hicks Clinic scandal remains one of the most horrifying cases of black-market baby trafficking in American history—a chilling reminder of how easily lives can be bought, sold, and rewritten.
