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Single Women Win The Right To IVFNew Landmark Ruling For Single And Lesbian Women
The UK Government has passed new anti-discrimination laws allowing single women and lesbian couples to have IVF.
On 20th May 2008, UK MPs voted to give same sex couples and single women parental rights. After a majority vote, the Human Fertilisation And Embryology Bill will replace existing laws on the subject. Previously, many clinics would provide IVF for single women or lesbian couples but this was at their discretion and some clinics could turn people away on the basis of the potential child not having a father, because the previous Act which was enacted in 1990 had a clause which stated the 'need for a father', and they were following this. Now such clinics will not be able to turn anyone away on those grounds without the risk of being prosecuted in new anti-discrimination lawsuits. As well as allowing them access to IVF, in the case of same sex couples and those who have a baby via surrogacy, it will legally recognise them as parents by giving them both parental rights (PR). Previously, a baby born by a surrogate was legally the surrogate's baby, even if she got pregnant using the infertile woman's egg and her husband's sperm. The infertile couple would then have to adopt the baby, despite it being biologically theirs. Some high profile surrogacy cases highlighted flaws in the system, when rarely, a surrogate would refuse to give up her parental rights. The Government also won votes to allow siblings of sick children to be used as donors to help their brother or sister and on the use of cross animal and human embryos for medical research purposes. They also decided to keep the legal abortion limit at 24 weeks instead of reducing it to 20 weeks as had been put forward by pro-life campaigners. There was strong opposition by the Tory party for the new single parents laws, and MP Iain Duncan Smith asserted that children without fathers are likely to have problems with drink and drugs or to drop out of school. The Health Minister disagreed, saying the quality of parenting was more important than whether or not a child had a traditional two parent family consisting of a mother and a father. However, in surveys it appears the majority of the British public doesn't agree with her and most over 55s were against single or lesbian families. The younger the person surveyed, the more likely he was to agree to the changes. Those in their late teens, twenties and early thirties were in favour of the new laws.
The copyright of the article Single Women Win The Right To IVF in Infertility is owned by Joanna Karpasea-Jones. Permission to republish Single Women Win The Right To IVF in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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